Fayetteville, WV (WOAY) – A Fayette County Judge sentenced an inmate to prison for drug possession while in custody.
According to a Facebook post by the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of Fayette County, Shannon D. Carte was sentenced to not less than one nor more than five years in prison by Circuit Judge Thomas K. Fast, for the felony offense of possession of a controlled substance by an inmate.
Carte was found guilty of the offense during a trial that concluded on November 18, 2024.
Due to the Carte’s extensive criminal history and seriousness of the current charges, Judge Fast found Carte was not an appropriate candidate for probation or an alternative sentence and the defendant’s application for probation was denied.
On February 09, 2024, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department was contacted by Fayette County Sheriff’s Department Transport Officer S. Settle stating he witnessed Carte hiding illegal drugs in a holding cell. Camera footage showed Carte searching the insides of vents in the cell. Plastic bags were removed from the inside of one of the vents and Carte placed one baggy in his sock. The cell was searched with law enforcement locating a baggy of suspected marijuana and suspected methamphetamine was found scattered in the floor. Subsequent lab testing confirmed that Carte had 10.09 grams of methamphetamine in his possession.
Judge Fast ordered the sentence to run consecutively with a sentence Carte was previously ordered to serve. The Court referred Carte to a substance use disorder treatment program conducted by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
