Ohio man sentenced for drug crime in Fayette County

FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WVNS) — An Ohio man was sentenced for a felony drug crime in Fayette County.

34-year-old Galen A. Steele, of Toledo, Ohio, was sentenced on May 7, 2024 to seven years in prison for the felony offense of conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

On March 18, 2024, Steele pleaded guilty to the offense, and he will need to serve at least one year and nine months in prison before being eligible for parole.

An officer with the Fayetteville Police Department performed a traffic stop of a car traveling north on Route 19 in Fayetteville on May 7, 2021 due to erratic driving and speeding. The driver was identified as Galen A. Steele, and the passenger was confirmed to be Ashley McCree.

After smelling marijuana in the car, the officer investigated and found marijuana and what was believed to be heroin/fentanyl, pills, and cocaine hidden in a drink mix container and cooler in the car, as well as more than $4,000 in cash.

Laboratory testing revealed that more than 19 grams of a fentanyl and heroin mixture was found in the car with Steele and McCree. In addition to the fentanyl and heroin mixture, tests confirmed that Steele also had crack cocaine in his possession, and pills that contained methamphetamine.

In March 2022, Steele was arrested in Ohio due to unrelated charges, and in February 2024 he was extradited to West Virginia because of pending charges.

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