Two women sentenced to Federal prison for heroin crimes

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Two women were sentenced to prison today for federal heroin crimes, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Charon Chere Harris, 36, of Huntington, was sentenced to a year and three months in federal prison for maintaining a residence for the purpose of distributing heroin. In a separate prosecution, Kaleigh Horn, 25, of Chillicothe, Ohio, was sentenced to three years and two months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin. 

From May to June 2015, Harris leased an apartment located at 2736 Rear 4th Avenue in Huntington. The terms of the lease provided that Harris would be the tenant of the apartment for a year beginning in May 2015. However, Harris never resided in the apartment and actually leased it for the purpose of allowing Eddie William Randall, of Detroit, to reside there and distribute heroin that was transported from Detroit to the Huntington area.

On June 25, 2015, officers with the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at the apartment. During the search, officers seized approximately 40 grams of heroin, drug paraphernalia, a loaded 9mm pistol, and $13,030 in cash. During the search of another residence in Huntington on 25th Street, also identified through the investigation, officers seized approximately 280 grams of heroin and a loaded .45 caliber pistol. Randall admitted that he possessed the heroin from both residences for distribution and that he possessed the guns in an effort to protect himself from theft or robbery of heroin or cash. Randall was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on April 11, 2016, after previously pleading guilty to drug and firearms charges.

In a separate heroin prosecution, Kaleigh Horn admitted that in 2014, she conspired with others to distribute heroin in the Mason County area. Horn further admitted to transporting heroin from Detroit to Gallipolis, Ohio, and to Point Pleasant, where it was sold for $200 per gram by Horn and others involved in the conspiracy. Finally, Horn admitted that the group had been responsible for distributing up to 1000 grams of heroin over the course of the conspiracy.

The investigation of Harris was conducted by the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force, the Huntington Police Department, and the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution of Harris. The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, the DEA, the West Virginia State Police, and the Gallia County Sheriff’s Department in Ohio conducted the investigation of Horn. Assistant United States Attorney John J. Frail is responsible for the prosecution of Horn. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentences.

These cases were brought 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. 

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