A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to federal prison after drugs were discovered during a traffic stop in Harrison County.
According to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office, 40-year-old Jo-El Torres of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, was stopped in Clarksburg, West Virginia for an unclear cause. A K9 cop detected drugs in the car he was driving. According to the announcement, when requested to depart the vehicle, Torres “attempted to swallow a bag and its contents.” Officers were able to subdue him and recover the bag.
Later lab tests identified fentanyl and “other drugs” in the package. The Greater Harrison County Drug Task Force, Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Clarksburg Police Department, and West Virginia State Police all conducted investigations into the incident. Andrew Cogar, an assistant United States attorney, prosecuted the case.
Torres was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, plus three years of supervised release. This is his third federal drug conviction, following one in 2016 and another in 2020.