BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A man from Texas faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to trafficking a large quantity of methamphetamine into West Virginia, the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Steven Michael Pena, 50, of Friendswood, Texas, pleaded guilty in Boone County Circuit Court to bringing nearly six pounds of methamphetamine into West Virginia from Texas. Investigators said the meth was 94% pure and hidden behind a vehicle’s dashboard.
Pena’s arrest followed a lengthy investigation involving the US 119 Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, West Virginia State Police, and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department.
Investigators uncovered a conspiracy between Pena and a man from Boone County identified as Aubrey Jack Turley II. Along with the drugs, law enforcement officers seized Pena’s vehicle and $9,000 in cash.
Turley already has been convicted and sentenced from one to 15 years in prison.
Pena, who has a number of number of drug convictions in Texas, will be sentenced at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at the Boone County Courthouse, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
He is currently in custody in the South Central Regional Jail.
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1 of 2 | West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (L) surveys the damage last month after storms flooded much of the state. On Tuesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced additional federal disaster assistance as residents impacted by the storms begin to rebuild. File Photo courtesy of WV Office of the Governor
March 26 (UPI) — West Virginia will receive federal disaster assistance as residents rebuild following last month’s severe storms, flooding and landslides, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Tuesday.
“As West Virginians rebuild their homes, neighborhoods and businesses following the severe storms, HUD continues to provide financial flexibility and disaster recovery resources,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner.
“Supporting disaster response is a core and important part of our mission-minded approach to serving communities at HUD,” Turner added.
West Virginia suffered severe flooding across much of the state on Feb. 15. The storms killed several people, took out roads and power lines and flooded homes and businesses. Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a State of Emergency in 10 counties as President Donald Trump announced a Major Disaster Declaration to unlock federal resources.
Tuesday’s federal disaster aid from HUD means residents can expect a 90-day moratorium on mortgage foreclosures and a 90-day extension for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages.
HUD will also provide FHA insurance to disaster victims, which gives borrowers 100% financing including closing costs. The insurance makes financing available for both mortgage and home restoration. And HUD said it will put residents in touch with housing counseling agencies to determine the needs of those impacted by the natural disaster and the resources available to them.
“Ensuring our communities have the resources they need to recover from disasters is a top priority,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. “I am grateful to HUD for delivering additional resources to West Virginians impacted by these storms, which will help in the rebuilding and strengthening of our communities for the future.”
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Some of the biggest names in West Virginia’s coaching search are now officially unavailable. Ben McCollum landed with Iowa, Niko Medved to Minnesota, Ryan Odom to Virginia, and Will Wade to NC State. Yes, McCollum and Medved were more likely than the others, but still, some of the top names on Wren Baker’s have been crossed off.
So, where does West Virginia go from here?
Utah State’s Jerrod Calhoun remains very much in the mix and is still viewed as a favorite, but who else is there?
North Texas’ Ross Hodge and Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes are a couple of names that have been floated around on social media, but Hodge is the candidate fans need to take seriously.
Hodge was the associate head coach at North Texas for six years when Wren Baker was the school’s Vice President and Director of Athletics before moving to West Virginia in 2022. Baker knows how instrumental Hodge was in the Mean Green’s run under now-Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland and has continued that momentum in his first two years as the head man.
Earlier this season, Hodge broke the program record for most league wins in a coach’s first two years with 19 but added five more to that, bringing the new mark to 24. Four of the Mean Green’s eight losses this season came to NCAA Tournament teams – McNeese, Utah State, High Point, and Memphis. Despite being ranked 65th in the NCAA’s Net rankings, North Texas was left out of the tournament. His team is set to play in the quarterfinals of the NIT against Oklahoma State on Tuesday night.
While Hodge isn’t viewed by the fan base as a top-tier candidate, you have to keep in mind that this time next year, assuming he has another stellar season, he would be one of the handful of guys Power Four schools will get into a bidding war for. Hiring him this cycle would be getting ahead of that.
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