U.S Attorney Booth Goodwin Story Archives - Page 2 of 8

Former WVSU Basketball Player Sentenced on Heroin Charges

Former West Virginia State University basketball player Kendrick Leon Ward will spend two years in prison for distributing heroin.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says Ward sold heroin to a confidential informant near a dormitory on West Virginia State’s campus in Institute in 2013. The 25-year-old Oak Park, Michigan, resident pleaded guilty in September to distributing heroin within 1,000 feet of school property.

Goodwin says in a news release that Ward was sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Charleston.

Ward played in 27 games during the 2012-2013 season and averaged 4.5 points per game.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin to Resign

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Booth Goodwin will resign from his post after 15 years in the office.

Goodwin has served as the U.S. Attorney since May 2010, but previously worked in the office as an assistant U.S. Attorney since 2001.

A news release from his office says Goodwin will return to private practice at the beginning of 2016.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia,” Goodwin said in the release.

“The unparalleled success of this office during my tenure is a tribute to and a result of the extraordinary dedication of the lawyers, staff and law enforcement personnel with whom I have been privileged to serve.”

Goodwin’s tenure has focused on fighting prescription drug use throughout the region, prosecution corruption in southern West Virginia tied to public officials and the coal industry and led the investigation into the 2014 chemical spill in Charleston that left 300,000 people without drinkable water for days.

Perhaps most notably, the office also recently received a conviction on one misdemeanor count against former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, although Blankenship was acquitted of two much more serious charges.

Goodwin has been named as a possible Democratic candidate for governor in the 2016 race. If he enters the race, Goodwin will face a primary against current Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler and coal billionaire and Greenbrier Resort owner Jim Justice.

Federal Partnership Will Fund Southern W.Va. Naloxone Pilot

A federal grant will make a lifesaving drug available to State Troopers in three southern West Virginia counties.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Booth Goodwin announced the $100,000 grant in Princeton Wednesday.

The money comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and will help start a pilot program to train State Troopers in Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming Counties to administer Naloxone.

Naloxone is an opioid antagonist- a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose and with additional medical treatment, can save a person’s life.

West Virginia has one of the highest rates of overdose deaths in the nation.

“That’s why it’s so critical for us to have tools like Naloxone freely available to law enforcement who very well could be the first responder on the scene and very likely save a life,” Goodwin said.

West Virginia lawmakers passed a bill during the 2015 legislative session to make Naloxone available to all law enforcement officers as well as friends and family members of addicts. That bill, however, did not provide funding for the medication.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Goodwin: 'We Don't Bring Charges We Can't Support'

Some 24 hours after a verdict was handed down in the trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said he is not disappointed in the outcome. In fact, he’s calling the conviction on one misdemeanor count a victory.

“You’ve got to remember that this guy was convicted of reprehensible conduct,” Goodwin said. “He conspired to willfully violate laws that were designed to keep miners safe, laws that were written in the blood of coal miners’ past.”

Goodwin said there’s nothing he and his office can do about the penalties–the conviction carries a possible maximum sentence of up to one year in prison– but he believes count one was more serious than the two felony false statement counts tried in the case, calling it the “centerpiece” of the indictment.

“Ultimately, I think anyone is not excited at the prospect of going to jail for any length of time,” he said, “and it is a substantial fall from the boardroom to potential incarceration.”

For Goodwin, the most powerful piece of evidence in the prosecution’s case was the testimony of former miners who worked underground at Upper Big Branch. Many described the conditions, some saying they walked through water up to their chest to get to a section of the mine they were told to work in, and others discussed the violations they saw being committed on a daily basis.

Despite the not guilty verdict on the two more serious felony counts of lying to investors and securities officials, Goodwin said he still believes they were appropriate charges to bring.

“We don’t bring charges that we don’t believe we can support at trial,” Goodwin said.

As for his political future now that the trial is over, Goodwin has been rumored as a potential candidate for governor, but would only say that his job is not permanent and he will eventually have to find a new career.

“This is what I enjoy doing, I like being able to get up every morning and feel like I’m making a positive change in a place that I love,” he said Friday.

“A life in public service is certainly one I want to continue and whether that requires a step into politics, I just don’t know yet.”

Blankenship on Trial: Guilty of Conspiracy

Jurors returned a split verdict Thursday in the trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship finding him guilty on a misdemeanor charge of conspiring to violate federal mine safety laws.

In the final episode of the podcast “Blankenship on Trial,” host Scott Finn discusses the verdict, its implications and what comes next with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Ashton Marra and Charleston attorney and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Hissam.

The misdemeanor count could mean up to one year of jail time for the former coal executive.

Blankenship was also found not guilty on two felony counts, the first for lying to investors, the second for lying to federal securities officials about Massey’s safety record following the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion that killed 29 men and sparked the investigation into Massey and later its CEO.

The two felony charges held a combined max sentence of 25 yeas, much more than what Blankenship is facing.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 23.

Feds Unveil Phone App, Website, PSA's for Drug Addiction Help

A federal prosecutor in southern West Virginia has unveiled a smartphone app to provide resources for people struggling with drug addiction.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says The Call WV app can provide assistance finding places to get help with addiction, including treatment facilities.

Goodwin this week also announced the debut of a website and a series of public service announcements to draw attention to additional resources in the fight against drug addiction. The PSAs are also available for viewing on the websitewww.makethecallwv.com .