U.S. Attorney Capito Commends Office and Law Enforcement Partners for Many Successes During Government Shutdown

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The criminal justice mission of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia was undeterred during the recent federal government shutdown, with the office securing 25 guilty pleas, nine grand jury indictments, and 31 sentencings during that time, United States Attorney Moore Capito said.

“The Assistant United States Attorneys and the staff in this office did not skip a beat,” Capito said. “They were coming to work without being paid and ensured that justice was done and that the people of West Virginia were safe.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office continued to prosecute criminal cases during the shutdown. More than a dozen criminal cases were brought under Operation Take Back America and involve drug trafficking, firearms, and immigration crimes. Other cases were brought under the Project Safe Childhood initiative and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.

Criminal cases that proceeded during the shutdown include:

• On  November 6, 2025, Timothy Ray Gravley, 42, of Logan County, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl and his brother Jessie Joe Gravley II, 43, of Logan County, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and quantities of fentanyl and heroin.
• Michael David Barker, 48, of Foster, was sentenced on November 10, 2025, to two years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,448,571.85 in restitution for conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Barker admitted to a scheme to defraud the Boone County Schools system by more than $3.4 million while employed as the maintenance director.
• Gregory Neal Hager, 40, of Madison, pleaded guilty on October 7, 2025, to possession of child pornography.
• Paul Charles Clement, 43, of Hillsboro, pleaded guilty on October 28, 2025, to failure to register as a sex offender, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), after relocating from Virginia to West Virginia.
• Dennis Eugene West, 57, of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, pleaded guilty on October 9, 2025, as an individual and on behalf of his trucking business Gadsden, Gaillard and West LLC, each for negligent discharge of pollutants into United States waters. West was hauling alkyl dimethylamine in a tractor trailer on August 24, 2022, when he crashed onthe West Virginia Turnpike while crossing Skitter Creek Bridge in Fayette County. The crash spilled the pollutants onto the bridge and into Paint Creek.
• Three Mexican citizens living illegally in West Virginia pleaded guilty to immigration crimes: Alfredo Galaviz-Galaviz, also known as “Alfredo Galaviz”, 28, Bruno Lisandro Pastrano Lopez, 39, and Lazaro Morales-Lauro, 52. They and a fourth Mexican citizen who pleaded guilty earlier to an immigration crime, Federico Montalvo Salas, 22, were sentenced to time served and transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) administrative custody for removal proceedings.
• Timothy Lane Crowder, 44, of Huntington, was sentenced on November 3, 2025, to five months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $24,525.33 in restitution for unlawful receipt of gratuities. Crowder admitted to receiving approximately $24,525.33 from disability benefits awarded to veterans while he was a salaried employee of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Press releases for hearings that occurred during the shutdown are also being posted on the website as they become available.

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