Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
St. Albans Man Sentenced to Nearly 20 Years in Prison for Role in Kanawha County Methamphetamine Trafficking
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A St. Albans man was sentenced today to 19 years and seven months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Shane Kelly Fulkerson, 46, participated in a drug trafficking ring operating in and around St. Albans from March 2021 until September 2021. Fulkerson admitted that he distributed large quantities of methamphetamine that he obtained from out-of-state.
Fulkerson further admitted to selling more than 100 grams of methamphetamine to an informant on three occasions in July and August 2021. On August 11, 2021, Fulkerson fled on a motorcycle from law enforcement officers in Poca, Putnam County. He was arrested after dropping the motorcycle in a private yard near Winfield and fleeing on foot. Police recovered 95 grams of methamphetamine, a loaded pistol, and more than $70,000 from Fulkerson’s backpack. The next morning, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Fulkerson’s St. Albans residence and seized more than 8 pounds of methamphetamine and approximately 22 firearms as well as several vehicles that were used to facilitate drug trafficking or were purchased with drug proceeds.
This case is part of a long-term investigation of methamphetamine distribution that resulted in 17 individuals being charged with various drug and firearm offenses in three separate indictments. Fulkerson and 13 others pleaded guilty: Ramon David Alston, James Edward Bennett III, Treydan Leon Burks, Jonathan Gregory Bush, Kaitlyn Brooke Combs, Kelly Cordle, Denise Marie Cottrill, Brittany Frances Gilbert, Angie Lane Harbour, Scott Edward Hudson, Jason Robert Oxley, Michael Antonio Smith, and Brian Dangelo Terry. Timothy Wayne Dodd was convicted on March 24, 2022, following a two-day jury trial. Douglas Jonathan Wesley and Leo Antoine Smith were convicted on May 26, 2022, following a three-day jury trial. Dodd, Wesley and Smith are scheduled to be sentenced in August.
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 sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Hanks and Alex Hamner prosecuted the case.
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-171, 2:21-cr-172, and 2:21-cr-211.