HUNTINGTON, WV—A Huntington man who was caught with heroin pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Andre Robert Womble, II, 26, pleaded guilty in federal court in Huntington, West Virginia, to possession with intent to distribute heroin.

On December 11, 2014, officers with the Huntington Police Department responded to a complaint on the 300 block of Marcum Terrace in Huntington. An officer observed Womble and noted that he matched the description of the suspect in the complaint. When the officer attempted to approach, Womble began running from the police. The officer chased Womble and observed him throw a cigarette box on top of the Olive Street Market. The cigarette box was found by law enforcement to contain approximately 53 grams of heroin. Officers caught and arrested Womble, at which point they found an additional 20 bags of heroin in his pocket. Womble admitted that he intended to distribute all of the heroin.

Womble faces up to 20 years in federal prison, and is schedule to be sentenced in federal court in Huntington on February 29, 2016.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force and Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of 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 and heroin. 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 and heroin in communities across the Southern District.