Mercer County man pleads guilty to drug crimes in Fayette County

OAK HILL, WV (WVNS) — A Mercer County man plead guilty to drug crimes after a traffic stop in Fayette County.

27-year-old Deron Adolph Yarrell, of Bluefield, was convicted of the felony offenses of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl, oxymorphone, cocaine, and tramadol, as well as the felony offenses of possession of fentanyl, oxymorphone, cocaine, and tramadol with the intent to deliver.

Yarrell, who also has pending felony drug charges in Marion County, faces ten years in prison for the conspiracy conviction, one to fifteen years in prison for the fentanyl, oxymorphone, and cocaine convictions, and one to three years in prison for the tramadol conviction.

Yarrell’s sentences could be doubled by the judge due to a previous drug related felony conviction.

On April 9, 2023, 33-year-old Cory Lee Callen, of Bluefield, who was Yarrell’s co-defendant, plead guilty to the felony offense of conspiracy, and faces up to ten years in prison.

A member of the Oak Hill Police Department performed a traffic stop on a Jeep driven by Callen on February 26, 2023. The Jeep, traveling north on U.S. Route 19, was speeding.

The passenger of the Jeep could not give the officer any identification, and gave a date of birth with the name “Allen Jackson.” Callen, who was not truthful about the destination, also told the officer that the passenger’s name was “Allen Jackson.”

After investigating, the officer discovered there was not a person with the given birthdate named “Allen Jackson.” A portable fingerprint scanner was used to reveal the passenger’s identity was Deron A. Yarrell. Yarrell had outstanding arrest warrants from Tazewell, Virginia.

Yarrell and Callen were arrested, and the Jeep was impounded and searched after a search warrant was acquired. During the search of the Jeep, more than 400 pills, amounts of suspected controlled substances, and digital scales were discovered.

Lab testing revealed that four hundred pills in the Jeep contained a mixture of fentanyl and tramadol and twenty pills were pharmaceutical oxymorphone. In addition to the pills, both Yarrell and Callen were in possession of one ounce of powder cocaine and one ounce of powder fentanyl.

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