FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Fayette County man was sentenced to prison last Tuesday on charges relating to child neglect and felony drug conspiracy.
According to Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Ciliberti Jr., on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Craig A. Webster – 35 years old of Mt. Hope, WV – was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Thomas H. Ewing to serve 10 years in prison for the crime of conspiracy to possess with the intent to deliver fentanyl, and 1 to 5 years for four counts of the felony offense of gross child neglect creating risk of death or serious injury.
Judge Ewing ordered that the sentences be served concurrently to one another, but consecutively to the felony drug conviction. This means that the defendant’s maximum sentence is 15 years in prison, and that Webster must serve a minimum of 3.5 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Webster pled guilty to these crimes on January 3, 2023.
The charges are in relation to a December 17, 2020, shooting incident in the Mill Creek Road area of Mount Hope in Fayette County involving a juvenile. On the scene, responding officers discovered a 13-year-old chiuld who had suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
Additional investigation led to the discovery of seven total juveniles in the home at the time of the incident, and the information that the firearm had been brought along by one of the juveniles who accidentally shot the victim.
During a subsequent search for evidence relating to the incident, officers located a bag which contained a large quantity of what was suspected to be heroin. A search warrant was then obtained to search the entire home. This search led to the discovery of additional suspected heroin, along with digital scales and other drug-related items.
Officers would learn that the residence was being utilized as part of a large-scale drug trafficking operation, and that the substance discovered which was suspected to be heroin was actually Fentanyl. The total amount of Fentanyl recovered as a result of the investigation is reported to be 420 grams.
The case was investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department with assistance from the Central Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, while the case was prosecuted by former Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Crane and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sarah F. Smith.
