Operation Shutdown Corner Update: Bluefield Woman Enters Guilty Plea to Federal Drug Crime

BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Bluefield woman pled guilty today for her participation in a drug trafficking operation (DTO) in Raleigh and Mercer Counties, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Marika Davis, 38, of Bluefield, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine.  Davis was charged as a result of a long-term, multi-state, investigation known as Operation Shutdown Corner.

“Mercer and Raleigh counties are not immune from the drug scourge,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Operation Shutdown Corner was a critical operation that made the lives of citizens better and safer. We continue with a sense of urgency to zero in on those that sell and distribute poisons to our kids and families.”

Davis admitted that between February 2019, and August 9, 2019, she participated in a DTO operating in Raleigh County and Mercer County, West Virginia by allowing drugs to be shipped to her home address at the request of other members of the DTO.  At the hearing, Davis admitted that she was paid to have packages delivered to her house.  She also admitted that on August 9, 2019, that she was transporting a package that had been delivered to her house in Bluefield and was delivering it to another member of the DTO in Beckley.  She further admitted that after picking up the other member of the DTO, a police officer pulled her over for a traffic violation.  At that time officers found the package she was delivering and discovered that it contained approximately two pounds of methamphetamine.  Through additional investigation, law enforcement officers were able to determine the package had been sent from California.

Davis faces up to twenty years in federal prison, and $1 million fine, to be followed by at least three years of supervised release when she is sentenced on July 6, 2020.  

Stuart commended the cooperative investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office, the Beckley Police Department, and the West Virginia State Police.

Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is in charge of the prosecutions.  The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Frank W. Volk.