CHARLESTON — Two cases involving a Parkersburg resident and a man arrested on drug charges in Parkersburg were handled in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

Adam Michael Miller, 28, Parkersburg, was sentenced to 63 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Miller previously admitted he was driving a Honda Pilot on Oct. 28, 2019, stopped by an officer with the Parkersburg Police Department in the 900 block of Williams Street in Parkersburg. Officers searched the vehicle and found a loaded Smith and Wesson .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a digital scale, small empty plastic bags consistent with drug distribution and marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms.

Several .40 caliber bullets were also found on Miller. The firearm was reported stolen through the Parkersburg Police Department. Miller was not legally permitted to possess a firearm due to his previous conviction for the felony offense of burglary on Dec. 6, 2017, in Calhoun County. Miller’s prior burglary conviction was related to his role in the kidnapping and torture of Joshua Darwin Shrader of Parkersburg in July 2016.

He was sentenced to imprisonment in that case for an indeterminate sentence of not less than one nor more than 15 years. He was later released upon parole supervision and was still on parole when this offense occurred. In addition to the burglary conviction, Miller has a history of violent and concerning behavior including 11 battery convictions, four convictions for violation of a protective order, as well as convictions for reporting a false emergency, obstructing an officer, destruction of property, and intimidation of a witness. The victims of his battery convictions include his mother, his fiance, a mall security guard, the mother of one of his children, a corrections officer, and his younger brother.

The Parkersburg Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe handled the prosecution.

In the other case, Devante Terrell Hatch, 28, Akron, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

“This Akron drug dealer was caught with more than four pounds of meth in his vehicle,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “And now he’ll be spending the next five years in federal prison.”

On Feb. 25, 2019, the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force received a tip that a large load of drugs was being delivered to a specific apartment on Staunton Avenue between 9-11 p.m. and that it would be coming from Akron in a vehicle with Ohio license plates. Uniformed Parkersburg officers began surveilling the area. At 10:05 p.m., they observed a GMC Terrain with Ohio license plates pull into the alley behind Staunton Avenue and park directly behind the apartment.

Officers approached Hatch, who was driving the vehicle. Hatch claimed to be there to visit his girlfriend, but he could not tell them where she lived. The officers smelled marijuana and asked Hatch whether he had any in the vehicle. Hatch admitted that he did, and officers searched the vehicle. The officers located and seized two backpacks containing marijuana and more than four pounds of methamphetamine. At the plea hearing, Hatch admitted that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine in Parkersburg.

The Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force and the Parkersburg Police Department conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua C. Hanks handled the prosecution.