FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – An Oak Hill woman has been sentenced to twenty years in prison Thursday for multiple instances of having partaken in the trafficking of heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine with a child present.
According to Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Ciliberti, Jr. authorities suspected 36-year-old Oak Hill resident Annette M. Johnson of having been involved with drug trafficking in the Fayette County area beginning in October of 2022.
Suspicion was aroused during this time when a vehicle was pulled over on Summerlee Road in the Oak Hill area after leaving Johnson’s residence. Multiple packages containing controlled substances were seized by law enforcement and the individual operating the vehicle would admit to having purchased them from Johnson.
During the period between December 2022 and February 2023, four separate undercover purchases of heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine from Johnson at her Dickerson Street, Oak Hill residence were conducted by law enforcement. According to law enforcement, there was an underage child – confirmed to be Johnson’s child – present for two of the four illegal drug purchases.
A search warrant was executed by law enforcement at the residence on February 14, 2023, leading to the discovery of additional suspected substances on Johnson’s person and inside her home. Laboratory testing revealed the substances in question to have been fentanyl and methamphetamine.
On Thursday, October 24, 2024, Johnson was sentenced by Circuit Judge Thomas E. Ewing to twenty years in prison for the felony crime of conspiracy to deliver no less than five and no more than fifty grams of methamphetamine. Johnson was additionally sentenced to one-to-five years in prison for the felony offense of gross neglect of a child creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death based on the instances of having sold controlled substances with a child present.
The sentences, to which Johnson pled guilty on August 20, 2024, were ordered to be served concurrently, and Johnson will be required to serve a minimum of five years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
Johnson also received a twenty-five-year sentence of extended supervised release with regard to the conviction of Gross Child Neglect. This period of supervised release will not begin until the discharging of Johnson sentence or completion of parole. Furthermore, the period of supervised release may be converted into a prison sentence of up to twenty-five years in the event that Johnson violates the conditions of her supervised release.
