Virginia man admits to drug charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Shawn Kendall Murray, of Gainesville, Virginia, has admitted to a drug charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Murray, age 37, pled guilty to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Hydrochloride.” Murray admitted to having cocaine hydrochloride in November 2018 in Jefferson County.

Murray faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.

The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.