A Morgantown woman is facing multiple drug charges after the Mon Metro Drug Task Force (MMDTF) conducted controlled drug buys and executed a search warrant on her residence.
Using confidential informants, the MMDTF conducted a controlled purchase of suspected cocaine from Ashley Nicole DePriest, 35, of Morgantown, in October 2021 and again in November 2021, the criminal complaint said.
Prior to both of the controlled purchases, the complaint said the confidential informant contacted DePriest to buy cocaine and was directed by her to a location in Morgantown. DePriest then provided the informant with a substance that tested positive for cocaine in exchange for copied task force funds.
According to the complaint, on Nov. 16, 2021, a Monongalia County Probation Officer contacted task force member Sgt. Z.T. Cooper in reference to a house check they conducted on Royal Oaks Drive in Morgantown.
The probation officer determined that DePriest was living in the home and an amount of cocaine was located during the house check.
Cooper obtained a search warrant for the residence, the complaint said, which “yielded individual packaged bags of cocaine, along with a small amount of methamphetamine and marijuana.”
DePriest agreed to speak with Cooper, the complaint said, and admitted the cocaine located during the search warrant was hers and admitted to selling small amounts of cocaine.
According to court records, during an arraignment hearing last week in Monongalia County Magistrate Court on Sept. 29, DePriest pleaded not guilty to two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, two counts of drug conspiracy, and one count of possession with intent to deliver cocaine.
DePriest was released from custody after posting a $125,000 bond.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
