Six Drug Traffickers Sentenced to 37 Years
Federal judges handed prison terms ranging from 41 to 168 months to six people tied to fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution in West Virginia.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Drug Crime
Six drug traffickers were sentenced to a combined 37 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine in West Virginia. Kenneth Robert Eversole, 48, of Keyser, received 168 months after more than 400 grams of fentanyl was found in Mineral County.
Why it matters
The sentences show federal prosecutors pursuing both local dealers and out-of-state suppliers in the fentanyl trade across the state. The case also highlights how stash houses in Berkeley County were used to store and package drugs for distribution.
Six defendants have been sentenced in federal court, with combined terms of 37 years, while Rodney Harry Augustine of Baltimore, Maryland, was convicted and awaits sentencing in 2027. The sentences are final for the other five defendants, and the status of Augustine's appeal rights was not stated in the source.
The players
Rodney Harry Augustine
Augustine is a Baltimore, Maryland, man convicted for his role as the supplier in the Berkeley County drug case.
The details
Eversole, Kile, Berens, Smith and Younger were sentenced to terms of 41 to 168 months for distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine across the Eastern Panhandle. Officers seized nearly one pound of fentanyl and other drugs from a Berkeley County home, and executed a search warrant at Eversole's duplex that turned up 150 pounds of marijuana and five firearms.
Timeline
November 4, 2026: Six drug traffickers sentenced in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
2027: Rodney Harry Augustine scheduled to be sentenced.
Legal Context
Federal prosecutors in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle have brought multiple cases against fentanyl and methamphetamine distributors, and this group of sentences follows that pattern. The outcome places the state's drug enforcement effort within a federal framework that also reaches suppliers based in neighboring Maryland.
Residents of the Eastern Panhandle may see continued federal enforcement operations targeting fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution in their communities. The sentences remove several active distributors from circulation for multiple years.
The takeaway
Federal drug sentences in West Virginia now reach both local dealers and out-of-state suppliers. Readers following fentanyl cases in the state can track outcomes through federal court announcements.
What happens next
Rodney Harry Augustine is scheduled to be sentenced in 2027.
Further reading
For more cases like this, browse Drug Crime coverage across the state.
