Daniel Paul Truax, a resident of Weirton, West Virginia, has confessed to distributing fentanyl, according to a statement from Wheeling, West Virginia. Court documents reveal Truax's involvement in a drug trafficking organization spanning from Chicago to the Ohio Valley, which includes Weirton, WV.
Truax could face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. The final sentence will be decided by a federal district court judge after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory considerations.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clayton Reid and Carly Nogay on the government's behalf. Various law enforcement agencies participated in the investigation, such as the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force, funded by HIDTA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and several local police and sheriff's departments.
The proceedings were overseen by U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone.