Man faces up to 30 years for drug trafficking into W.Va.

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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