WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA — A 49-year old Weirton, West Virginia, resident was sentenced on May 27, 2008, in United States District Court in Wheeling by Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that JOHN PACHEACO was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release, pursuant to an earlier entered plea of guilty. PACHEACO entered a plea of guilty on April 11, 2008, to one count of an Indictment charging him with aiding and abetting the distribution of “crack” cocaine on November 7, 2007, in Weirton. PACHEACO was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal.

The case was investigated by the Hancock County/Brooke County/Weirton Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers from the Weirton Police Department, the Brooke County Sheriff's Department, the Hancock County Sheriff's Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hancock County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Task Force received assistance in the investigation from the Steubenville Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard.