A Pittsburgh man is staring down serious federal prison time after admitting he teamed up with an alleged gang member to push fentanyl in north-central West Virginia, prosecutors say. What started as a routine traffic stop in Weston ended with a hotel-room search, thousands of stamped fentanyl doses laid out as evidence, and federal charges that could keep him locked up for years.
The plea and the stop
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of West Virginia, 29-year-old Ramon Juan Sims Jr. has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Court records say Sims was driving with another man in September 2024 when Weston police pulled their vehicle over during a patrol along Broad Street, then reported finding fentanyl along with $2,040 in what investigators describe as suspected drug proceeds.
Hotel-room haul and alleged gang ties
Prosecutors say the traffic stop was just the start. A search of the hotel room where the two men were staying turned up roughly 3,750 stamped doses of fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of West Virginia. That office identified 35-year-old Shawn Galin Whitley Jr. of Charlotte as a suspected gang member who had already pleaded guilty in April to related fentanyl trafficking charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner is handling the prosecution.
Legal exposure and next steps
Sims faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison. A judge will decide his sentence after weighing the federal sentencing guidelines and other factors, WTAE reports. No sentencing date has been set, and the case remains in federal court as investigators and lawyers gear up for the next round of hearings.
Why authorities flagged this operation
Federal prosecutors have tied the arrests and seizures to coordination between local officers and federal task forces under the Department of Justice initiative Operation Take Back America. They point to the volume of stamped fentanyl as the kind of supply chain that can drive overdose spikes in smaller communities. Agencies cited by the U.S. Attorney's Office as involved in the investigation include the Mountain Region Drug Task Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
