Charleston heroin and meth dealer enters federal guilty plea

On April 8, 2015, officers with the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) conducted a knock and talk at a residence where Dunnigan was staying. Officers recovered over 100 grams of methamphetamine, over 50 grams of heroin, and cash from the residence. Dunnigan admitted that the drugs and cash were his and stated that for approximately two months he had been receiving heroin and methamphetamine from a source in Ohio and distributing it in Kanawha County.

Dunnigan also admitted that on May 6, 2015, he was present in a house in Charleston where Charleston Police Department officers were executing a search warrant. On that day, Dunnigan had a loaded .38 caliber hand gun. Dunnigan was prohibited from possessing any firearm because he had previously been convicted of two felonies and had not had his rights to possess a firearm restored.

Dunnigan faces up to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on December 8, 2015.

The investigation was conducted by MDENT, the Charleston Police Department, and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn is handling the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.  This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.