Suspects in major drug bust begin court process

Feb. 9—The nine individuals arrested during a multi-location Mon Metro Drug Task Force drug bust last week were scheduled for preliminary hearings in Monongalia County Magistrate Court on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Four of the nine charged waived their rights to preliminary hearings in magistrate court and will now move on to Monongalia County Circuit Court: Shdiamond Adams, 19 ; Keneitha Cason, 21 ; Emily McHenry, 34 ; and Darnell Spearman, 18.

Court records show bond amounts for Adams and Cason were also lowered from $500, 000 to $250, 000.

Three of the nine chose to waive time on their hearings, giving up their right to a speedy trial, and will now be rescheduled in magistrate court in a few weeks. That includes Robert Crawford, 26 ; Rebekah Feicht, 47 ; and Juan Patterson, 24.

Jajuan Odum, 26, and Damir Swann, 28, went forward with their preliminary hearings. In both cases, Magistrate James Pocius found probable cause, so they will move on in the trial process.

The arrests came after police received multiple tips regarding a coordinated drug trafficking operation in the Morgantown area in December 2023. According to reports from Task Force Officer Mark Trump, all of the sources said Swann was involved in a conspiracy to sell drugs and were adamant that Swann and his group were "well armed and went above and beyond to use their firearms to protect their drugs and money."

Based on evidence obtained throughout December 2023 and January 2024, task force members were granted search warrants for five separate locations in Monongalia County.

The morning of Jan. 29, the five warrants were served by members of the task force, Morgantown Police Department, West Virginia State Police and West Virginia University Police Department.

Multiple ounces of fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as guns and currency, were located during the searches.

Swann, Spearman, Patterson and Crawford are facing charges for two counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Their bonds were set at $500, 000 each.

Adams, Cason, Odum and McHenry are each charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Bonds for Adams, Cason and Odum were set at $500, 000. McHenry's was set at $50, 000.

Feicht is facing one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Her bond is $50, 000.

The Dominion Post will continue to follow this case as it proceeds through the court process.