West Virginia Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to 15 Months in Multi-State Ring

WHEELING, W.Va. — Matthew Clemont, 33, of Wheeling was sentenced to 15 months in prison Thursday for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia announced.

Clemont sold blue fentanyl pills in the Ohio Valley as part of a multi-state trafficking ring. The single count of possession with intent to distribute carries a statutory penalty that includes both prison time and supervised release following the term.

The sentence marks the resolution for this defendant in the broader enforcement action targeting the ring's operations. Clemont will serve the term in federal prison followed by supervised release, though exact post-release conditions were not detailed in the announcement. The case was prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

Downstream, the sentencing advances the Justice Department's effort to dismantle the distribution network that moved fentanyl across state lines into Ohio and West Virginia communities. Federal agents and prosecutors must now determine whether additional members of the ring remain at large or require further charges.

The Bureau of Prisons will assign Clemont to a facility within the next several weeks under standard sentencing timelines.

This case forms one piece of the federal response to the opioid crisis in Appalachia. The Department of Justice has pursued similar fentanyl trafficking prosecutions in the Northern District of West Virginia throughout the past decade, often targeting pill-form fentanyl distributed in the Wheeling and Ohio Valley areas.

The announcement comes from a formal press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The 15-month term reflects a sentencing calculation that accounted for Clemont's specific conduct and criminal history under federal guidelines. No fine amount or forfeiture details were released in the announcement.