CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – Two, including a former WVU basketball player, have been sentenced for their roles in a Morgantown drug operation.
Aaric Murray, 30, also listed as a center on the 2013 WVU basketball team, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, and Richard Kirkland Johnson, 26, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
In April of 2020, deputies from the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department were called to a home in the 500 block of Independence Hills Village on a report of a hostage situation that was unfounded.
Both men consented to a search to confirm the woman was not in the residence.
During the search, deputies found a bag of crack cocaine, a bag of marijuana, and cutting agents. methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and two firearms with ammunition. Murray had more than $6,000 in his possession, and Johnson had more than $2,500 in cash at the time of the search.
At sentencing, the court heard testimony that Murray had more than 40 interactions with law enforcement since 2012.
The Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crime Task Force participated in the investigation.