Mercer County man sentenced for felony drug crime in Fayette County

OAK HILL, WV (WVNS) — A man from Bluefield, West Virginia was sentenced for a felony drug crime in Fayette County.

34-year-old Cory L. Callen, of Bluefield, West Virginia, was sentenced on July 8, 2024 to ten years in prison for the felony crime of conspiracy to possess fentanyl, oxymorphone, cocaine, and tramadol with the intent to deliver. He will need to serve at least two years and six months in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

On April 9, 2024, Callen pleaded guilty to the felony drug crime, and his co-conspirator Deron A. Yarrell was found guilty and will be sentenced on July 23, 2024.

Callen also faces additional felony charges in Mercer County, one of which includes a murder charge.

A traffic stop was held by a member of the Oak Hill Police Department on a Jeep driven by Callen on February 26, 2023. The Jeep, traveling north on U.S. Route 19, was speeding.

The passenger of the Jeep could not give the officer any identification, and gave a date of birth with the name “Allen Jackson.” Callen was not honest about the destination and told the officer that the passenger’s name was “Allen Jackson.”

After investigating, the officer found there was not a person named “Allen Jackson” with the given birthdate. A portable fingerprint scanner was used to discover that the passenger’s identity was Deron A. Yarrell, who had outstanding arrest warrants from Tazewell, Virginia.

Both Callen and Yarrell were arrested, and the Jeep was impounded and searched once a search warrant was acquired. During the search of the Jeep, more than 400 pills, digital scales, and amounts of suspected controlled substances were discovered.

Lab testing discovered that 400 pills in the Jeep contained a mixture of fentanyl and tramadol, and 20 pills were pharmaceutical oxymorphone. In addition to the pills, both Callen and Yarrell were also in possession of one ounce of powder fentanyl and one ounce of powder cocaine.

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