CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Mexican national living illegally in the United States was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Charleston for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.
Silvester Barcenas, 24, was sentenced on February 11, 2026, to four years and nine months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 12, 2024, Barcenas arrived in Charleston with more than eight pounds of methamphetamine in a vehicle he had driven from South Carolina, where he was living at the time.
Barcenas admitted he possessed the methamphetamine and that a co-conspirator directed him to deliver the drugs to another individual in Charleston. He told the court he carried out the delivery as instructed.
Barcenas and two other Mexican nationals living illegally in the United States were indicted by a federal grand jury following a joint investigation by federal and local law enforcement agencies.
Authorities said the investigation uncovered a conspiracy responsible for delivering large quantities of methamphetamine to West Virginia and other locations from Houston.
One co-defendant, Braulio Villa-Chairez, also known as “Raul,” 32, pleaded guilty on August 11, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2026.
Another co-defendant, German Francisco Diaz, also known as “Trulio,” 41, remains a fugitive. An indictment is an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In a related case stemming from the same investigation, Israel Chaires-Villa, 23, was sentenced on November 20, 2025, to three years and 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed immigration detainers on the Mexican national defendants for transfer to ICE custody for removal proceedings following the completion of their criminal sentences.
United States Attorney Moore Capito announced the sentence and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, which includes the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department.
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe prosecuted the case.
