Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced that Lamont Thomas, 42, of Detroit, Michigan, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine and a quantity of heroin.

“This Detroit drug dealer brought eight pounds of meth and some heroin into Charleston for distribution,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “Great work by the Charleston Police Department and DEA to catch Thomas soon after he got off of the bus.”

Thomas admitted that on May 14, 2020, he traveled from Detroit to Charleston by Greyhound bus.  He further admitted that he was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by officers of the Charleston Police Department after leaving the Greyhound Bus Station. When a drug K-9 alerted on Thomas’s backpack, officers searched it and found approximately eight pounds of methamphetamine and approximately 61 grams of suspected heroin.  Thomas admitted that the drugs were his and that he intended to distribute the controlled substances.

Thomas faces a minimum of five years and up to 40 years in federal prison when sentenced on May 17, 2021.

The Charleston Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted the investigation.  Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorney Monica Coleman is handling the prosecution.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-00198.