Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Crime

 HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – An Ohio man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime.

According to court documents, on June 12, 2019, law enforcement officers executed search warrants at locations on 26^th and 27^th Streets in Huntington pursuant to a shooting investigation. Inside the 26^th Street residence officers located Jacob Benjamin Loper, 20, a baggie of 7.9 grams of heroin as confirmed by the DEA Laboratory and digital scales. Loper admitted that his fingerprints would be on the baggie of heroin and that he had possessed it at the 27^th Street residence.

Loper pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin and he faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on September 20, 2021.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Huntington Police Department.  

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan A. Keefe and Stephanie S. Taylor are handling the prosecution.