According to U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, three Tucker County residents pleaded guilty to drug charges before Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull in Elkins.
Destry Seth Poling, 27, of Parsons, Shannon David Flagg/aka/ “Shane”, 40, of Hambleton and Michael Luther White, 22, of Thomas, entered pleas of guilty to possession of pseudoephedrine to be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
In the original indictments, Poling was charged with five counts, Flagg faced a total of fourteen charges and White was charged with two counts of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine” from November 2012 to June 2013, in Tucker, Randolph, Upshur and Preston Counties.
All three are free, on bond, pending sentencing. Each could face up to 20 years imprisonment for the charges against them. The West Virginia State Police, the Tucker County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Forest Service investigated the case.
Three other individuals, who were in the original indictments, will have a Pretrial Conference on Nov. 22 and trial on Dec. 3. Susan Chloe Ridley, 47, of Parsons and Misty Autumn Grafton, 25, of Hambleton were charged with a total of six counts, and Eric Scott Pennington, 29, of Parsons faces a total of ten counts of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine” from November 2012 to June 2013, in Tucker, Randolph, Upshur and Preston Counties.