Two Kanawha County Men Sentenced to Prison for Roles in Drug Trafficking Organization
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Michael Antonio Smith, 49, of Charleston, was sentenced to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jason Robert Oxley, 38, of St. Albans, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Oxley was on parole at the time he committed these offenses.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Smith kept firearms and drugs in his residence in Rand for a member of a multi-state methamphetamine distribution organization operating in and around Charleston. On September 29, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Smith’s residence and recovered 31.89 grams of methamphetamine and four firearms, including two semi-automatic rifles: a Glock, Model 39, .45-caliber pistol; an Anderson Manufacturing, Model AM-15, multi-caliber rifle; a Norinco, Model MAK-90 Sporter, 7.62 mm caliber rifle; and a Century Arms, Model RAS 47, 7.62 mm caliber pistol. Smith admitted that he possessed the firearms.
Oxley admitted that he obtained methamphetamine and other drugs from two of his co-defendants from March 2020 until June 2021, which he then distributed. Oxley admitted that he sold methamphetamine at his residence to a confidential informant on March 22, 2021 and April 12, 2021. Oxley further admitted that he bought a SWD Cobray, Model M11/9, 9mm pistol from a local gun show on May 21, 2021. Police recovered it the next day after a co-defendant hid it while trying to evade a traffic stop.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Smith knew he was prohibited from possessing firearms because of his convictions for possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine on April 10, 1997, wanton endangerment on March 2, 1998, and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance on May 28, 2009, all in Kanawha County Circuit Court. Oxley knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his convictions for operating a clandestine drug lab in Putnam County Circuit Court on August, 31, 2004, for possession of substances used as precursors to manufacture methamphetamine in Kanawha County Circuit Court on June 26, 2017, and for grand larceny in Kanawha County Circuit Court on September 26, 2017.
These cases are part of a long-term investigation of methamphetamine distribution that resulted in the conviction of 17 individuals for various drug and firearm offenses in three separate indictments. Twelve others pleaded guilty: Ramon David Alston, James Edward Bennett III, Treydan Leon Burks, Jonathan Gregory Bush, Kaitlyn Brooke Combs, Kelly Cordle, Denise Marie Cottrill, Shane Kelly Fulkerson, Brittany Frances Gilbert, Angie Lane Harbour, Scott Edward Hudson, and Brian Dangelo Terry. The remaining three, Timothy Wayne Dodd, Douglas Jonathan Wesley and Leo Antoine Smith, were convicted at trial.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha and Putnam County Sheriff’s Departments, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentences. Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Hanks and Alex Hamner prosecuted the cases.
This prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
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 Nos. 2:21-cr-00172, 2:21-cr-00171, and 2:21-cr-00211.
###
