Brian Ellis Jones, a 44-year-old resident of Freeport, New York, has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine. The court has ordered him to serve five additional years under supervised release following his prison term.
According to the court records, between March 15, 2023, and June 24, 2023, Jones sent 11 methamphetamine-laden packages from New York to Jason Todd Painter, his co-defendant in Clendenin, West Virginia. Jones admitted that these packages collectively contained at least 33 pounds of methamphetamine. Jones also coordinated with Painter, who retained some methamphetamine for personal use and stored the remainder for Jones. Occasionally, he instructed Painter to distribute methamphetamine to other individuals in the Kanawha County area.
On July 15, 2023, law enforcement intercepted a package sent by Jones via the United States Postal Service from New York to Clendenin, revealing its contents to be methamphetamine. Jones was arrested on July 18, 2023, with $1,133 in his possession, which he admitted were drug proceeds.
Painter, aged 40, from Clendenin, had been charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and received a five-year prison sentence on November 13, 2024, along with three years of supervised release.
The case announcements were made by Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, who praised the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). MDENT includes the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department, and the South Charleston Police Department.
Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber assigned the sentence, and Assistant United States Attorney JC MacCallum prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and additional information about this case can be accessed by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-182 on PACER. Further details are available on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.