Keeley sends two to prison in separate gun-related cases

U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley sentenced both defendants.

The Ohio drug dealer, Nicholas Gardner, 21, of Chillicothe, Ohio, was sentenced to a total of seven years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Gardner owed it to the “grace of God” that no one was killed when the agents breached the room at the Hampton Inn last year, Keeley said. Co-conspirator Dillon James Barillaro, 20, also of Chillicothe, allegedly briefly brandished his gun as police entered the room before he was taken down by the Drug Task Force’s commander and one of his agents. Gardner was taken without resistance, but the gun, as well as an ammunition clip, were found under him, authorities have said.

“This was criminal conduct of the most dangerous kind, and it was abhorrent as to what might have happened in the community,” Keeley said.

Federal Defender Brian Kornbrath had asked the court to sentence Gardner to 6 1/2 instead of seven years. Kornbrath cited a pending policy change that will lighten some federal drug sentences. He also noted his client’s age as well as Gardner’s lack of any prior criminal history.

Kornbrath indicated Gardner got hooked on Percocets after a motorcycle wreck while he had been serving in the Air Force.

However, Keeley said the probation officer learned of marijuana use and heroin use by Gardner even before the wreck.

Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Morgan argued against Kornbrath’s motion for a downward variance.

She received a midnight call from the officers who were “still breathing hard” after the drug raid, having to make the split-second choice over whether to fire their guns.

It was the first time she had seen such a close call in 13 years of handling cases for the U.S. attorney’s office, Morgan indicated.

The behavior was “extremely dangerous” and “extra violent,” Morgan said.

Barillaro is scheduled to be sentenced next month, and is looking at the possibility of an even longer sentence.

The defendants came to West Virginia to distribute heroin and cocaine, Morgan said.

Heroin seized from their room had a street value of more than $26,000, authorities have said. Cocaine seized had a value of about $3,250, authorities have said.

The court ordered a forfeiture of the defendants’ guns (a 9 mm Luger and a Glock .40-caliber), a Glock ammo clip, 16 rounds of ammo for the Luger and 19 rounds for the Glock. The court also ordered the forfeiture of two iPhones and about $1,780 in cash.

In the Stonewood Police Department guns theft case, John Lynch, 43, of Clarksburg, became the second defendant sentenced to prison.

Keeley ruled Lynch, whose only prior conviction was for a 2011 petit larceny, must serve six months behind bars. He then is to serve three years on supervised release, with the first six months under house arrest.

Lynch will be allowed to remain free on post-conviction bond until May 23, when he is to report to prison. Even though he has a short sentence, it’s possible Lynch won’t get placed by the Bureau of Prisons at the Morgantown prison camp due to the involvement of guns and drugs in the case, Keeley noted.

Kornbrath unsuccessfully sought a term of five years’ probation for Lynch, who’s accused of giving codefendant Jonathan I. Carpenter a ride in return for a gun.

Lynch wasn’t involved in the burglaries of the guns and drugs taken from the Stonewood evidence locker, Kornbrath asserted. Lynch also has been staying drug-free since his arrest, Kornbrath said.

Morgan countered by noting that none of the other defendants had such a complete working knowledge of the interior of the city building. Lynch had been fired from a Stonewood town job prior to the thefts, according to a statement in court.

But while opposing probation, the federal prosecutor did recommend the split sentence that included house arrest.

The case illustrates that drugs and guns often go together in this community, Keeley noted.

And what Lynch likely has learned is that “when you mix drugs and guns and you get caught, you’re going to get in a lot of trouble,” the judge added.

Several individuals were arrested in the investigation led by ATF Special Agent Kenneth Grace.

Already sentenced was Dominic Sutherlin, 28, of Clarksburg, who’s to serve three years and a month in prison when he reports May 9.

Sutherlin had pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a drug addict. The defendant served as the getaway driver for two others, Grace previously testified.

Carpenter, 25, Kristopher Cox, 33, Michelle McKinney, 29, and Denaul Dickerson, 26, all of Clarksburg, are awaiting sentencing.

Carpenter and Cox previously pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. McKinney pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting possession of firearms by a drug addict. Lynch and Dickerson pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a drug addict.

McKinney was a lookout for Carpenter as he entered an unlocked window at the police department on more than one occasion last August, Grace has alleged.

Sutherlin was the getaway driver for Carpenter and McKinney, Grace has alleged.

Dickerson obtained one of the stolen guns from Carpenter, then sold it to Cox, Grace has testified.

The Greater Harrison Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the Stonewood guns investigation.

Seventeen guns were taken, and all have been returned to the department, according to Grace.