Dec. 6—Charleston man gets five years for firearms theft
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Joshua Azale Mitchell, 21, of Charleston, was sentenced Wednesday to five years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing firearms from two Kanawha County businesses.
According to court records, Mitchell broke into a Dunbar business on Nov. 9, 2022, and stole a Diamondback Firearms DB15 5.56 caliber rifle and a Smith and Wesson M&P 15-22 .22-caliber rifle. On Nov. 10, 2022, Mitchell broke into a Charleston business and stole a Custom Arms & Accessories LD-15 5.56 caliber rifle and a DPMS Panther Arms A-15 5.56 caliber rifle.
Mitchell pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee and aiding and abetting the thefts. Co-defendant Keara Kilpatrick, 21, of Charleston, was sentenced to six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on Oct. 4, 2023, after pleading guilty to two counts of theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee and aiding and abetting the thefts. Kilpatrick drove Mitchell to and from the two Kanawha County businesses where Mitchell broke in and stole the firearms.
—-Charleston man facing between five and 80 years in jail for drug trafficking
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Karl Lamont Funderburk, 37, of Charleston, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, conspiracy to distribute a quantity of cocaine, and conspiracy to distribute a quantity of fentanyl.
Funderburk was part of a drug trafficking organization that operated in the Charleston area.
According to court records, Funderburk conspired with several other people between November 2022 and March 22, 2023, to distribute various drugs while living in Charleston. Funderburk had several regular customers. Funderburk used runners who would deliver the illegal drugs to these customers, collect money or other compensation from them, and return the proceeds to Funderburk.
Funderburk is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25 and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 80 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $5 million fine.
Funderburk is among 32 individuals indicted as a result of Operation Smoke and Mirrors, a major drug trafficking investigation that has yielded the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history.