Mercer County man sentenced for federal drug crime

PRINCETON, WV (WVNS) — A man from the Princeton area of Mercer County was sentenced to prison for a fentanyl crime.

21-year-old Dailen Isaiah Defoe, of Princeton, was sentenced on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 to nine years in prison, to be followed by three years of parole, for distribution of fentanyl.

According to statements made in court, members of law enforcement carried out a search warrant at a house in the Bluefield area of Mercer County where Defoe and his co-defendant, Malachi Damonte Cooper, lived on December 8, 2022.

During the search, officers discovered 734 grams of methamphetamine, around 130 grams of fentanyl, a money counter, digital scales, a semi-automatic handgun, a handgun loaded with a 30-round magazine, and more than $23,000.

Both Defoe and Cooper revealed that the controlled substances were in their possession, and that they planned to distribute them.

Defoe also revealed that on August 19, 2021, he sold fentanyl to a confidential informant in the Princeton area of Mercer County, and that he also sold amounts of fentanyl to the confidential informant in Princeton on August 23, 2021 and August 31, 2021.

Members of law enforcement executed a search warrant at Defoe’s house in Princeton on August 31, 2022. During the search, officers discovered around 774 grams of fentanyl, 375 grams of methamphetamine, 13 grams of heroin, three semi-automatic handguns, two drum magazines, various other gun magazines and ammunition, and several thousand dollars.

Defoe admitted that he planned to distribute the drugs that were found in his possession.

22-year-old Malachi Damonte Cooper, of Princeton, was sentenced to eight years in prison on followed by four years of parole, after he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on March 4, 2024.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Will Thompson, who thanked the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force for their work on the investigation.

Members of the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, the Bluefield Police Department, the Princeton Police Department, the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office, and the West Virginia State Police make up the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.

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