Michigan Drug Dealer Sentenced to Federal Prison for Involvement in Drug Conspiracy

HUNTINGTON, WV—A 35-year-old Michigan man who was involved in a drug distribution scheme was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Leonard Joseph Stewart, of Romulus, Michigan, previously pleaded guilty in Huntington to conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack cocaine and possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to deliver. Stewart admitted that a part of the conspiracy, he transported heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana, and the prescription drugs hydrocodone and alprazolam, also known as Xanax, from Michigan to Huntington to sell. After arriving in Huntington, Stewart and his associates rented rooms at Huntington-area motels and used the rooms to prepare and distribute the illegal drugs.

On December 30, 2012, agents with the Huntington Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force executed a search warrant on Stewart’s room at the Best Western in Huntington. During the search, Stewart dove through a second-story window at the motel to elude police. Stewart was arrested a short time later. Stewart had crack cocaine and heroin on him when the police found him. Police also seized more than 46 grams of heroin, Xanax pills, digital scales, and more than $4,000 in cash during the search of his hotel room.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Huntington Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.