Kent enters guily plea to federal drug charges

FAIRMONT — A Fairmont man could be headed to prison for the next 40 years after pleading guilty last week to federal drug charges.

This past July, 29-year-old Roshad Kent was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Clarksburg for allegedly distributing cocaine hydrochloride, or “coke,” within 1,000 feet of a “protected location.”

According to the indictment, Kent allegedly distributed the drugs within 1,000 feet of the playground at Unity Terrace Apartment complex on two separate occasions last February.

Late last week, according to a press release from acting U.S. attorney Betsy C. Jividen, Kent pleaded guilty to the charges in U.S. District Court in Clarksburg before Mag. Judge John S. Kaull.

He now faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a fine of $2 million. He is currently free on bond.

The Three Rivers Drug Task Force, made up of officers from the Fairmont Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case.