South Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A South Charleston man has pled guilty to a drug crime, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Clay Dempsey, 37, pled guilty to aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute a quantity of fentanyl.

“Our cities and towns have had enough of drug peddlers and the mules they get to transport their poison,” United States Attorney Mike Stuart said. “My office has successfully and aggressively cleaned up many of our streets from drugs and every day we are making West Virginia a safer place to live.”

Dempsey admitted on January 27, 2020, at co-defendant Troskey Banks’ direction, he drove to Cleveland, Ohio and met with an individual. That individual then directed him to a location where a maroon minivan was parked.  Dempsey switched the van he drove to Cleveland and drove the maroon minivan back to South Charleston. Banks directed him to park the minivan at a specific address in South Charleston. Dempsey parked the van at the location directed by Banks with the intent to come back later and meet with Banks to allow him to get inside the van and retrieve the controlled substances stored inside. Dempsey admitted that he knew that the purpose of his trip was to bring back controlled substances for Banks to distribute. Officers with the South Charleston Police Department later searched the van and recovered a bag of suspected fentanyl weighing approximately 105.2 grams, which field-tested positive for the presence of fentanyl and a bag of suspected methamphetamine weighing 118.7 grams, which field-tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine.

Dempsey faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on October 28, 2020.  Banks is scheduled for trial on July 27, 2020.

The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) and the South Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman and third-year law student intern Richard McCutcheon handled today’s plea hearing.