OHIO COUNTY, W.Va. — An Ohio County man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a felony drug charge involving the sale of cocaine to an undercover confidential informant.
Ishmael “Freddy” Howard entered a guilty plea to one count of delivery of a controlled substance in Ohio County Circuit Court. The charge carries a prison sentence of not less than one year and not more than 15 years in the custody of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Howard had been scheduled to stand trial before Circuit Judge David J. Sims but instead chose to resolve the case by entering a guilty plea.
Following the plea hearing, Howard was immediately remanded into the custody of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to begin serving his sentence.
According to court records, the charge stemmed from an October 2024 investigation in which Howard sold cocaine to an undercover confidential informant.
An Ohio County grand jury later indicted Howard on the charge in September 2025.
