CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Harrison County, West Virginia man was sentenced today for selling controlled substances and for his role in a firearms trafficking scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
Paul Oliver Dennison, 45, of Lumberport, West Virginia, was sentenced to 121 months in prison for firearms and drug violations. Beginning in spring 2024, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and Bridgeport Police Department received more than 20 reports of firearms and valuables stolen from unlocked vehicles. Investigators identified two suspects and learned the stolen firearms were being traded to Dennison for narcotics or cash. A search warrant executed at his residence, outbuildings, and vehicles resulted in the recovery of a stolen pistol, a suitcase containing multiple firearms, ammunition, and a suspected homemade silencer, as well as user quantities of marijuana, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other drugs. In a separate case, Dennison was selling fentanyl and methamphetamine from his home. On several occasions, Dennison sold between 40 to160 grams of fentanyl and nearly 14 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Greater Harrison Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office; and the Bridgeport Police Department investigated.
Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America , a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Northern District of West Virginia — U.S. Department of Justice press release.