Two individuals have admitted their involvement in a drug distribution operation that moved fentanyl from Chicago, Illinois to Weirton, West Virginia. Stephen Price, also known as “Sleepy,” age 40 and from Chicago, pleaded guilty to eight charges related to the distribution of fentanyl and cocaine. Paula Jean Truax, 44, of Weirton, entered a guilty plea for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base.
Court documents state that Price and Truax collaborated with others to sell significant amounts of fentanyl in Hancock County, West Virginia and other locations.
Price could receive a minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life imprisonment for one charge. He also faces up to 20 years on each of the remaining counts. Truax faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge after review of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal considerations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Nogay is prosecuting the case for the government.
The investigation was conducted by several agencies including the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force (a HIDTA-funded initiative), the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, United States Marshals Service, local sheriff’s offices in Hancock County and Brooke County, police departments in Weirton and Wheeling (West Virginia), Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (Ohio), Steubenville Police Department (Ohio), and West Virginia State Police.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided over proceedings.
