| A man has been charged for allegedly selling marijuana as a result of a undercover operation performed by Ritchie County Sheriff’s deputies.
On Oct. 29, deputies with the Ritchie County Sheriff’s Department began a social media correspondence in order to find evidence of a man selling narcotics, according to a criminal complaint.
The man, David Messinger, 31, of Harrisville, began to speak with deputies via “calls and text messages” which involved “the purchase of marijuana,” deputies said.
On Nov. 12, Messinger and another individual “met with an undercover unit” at a ParMar gas station on E. Main Street in Harrisville, and told the undercover unit to “follow him to an address” … “where he would exchange one quarter ounce of marijuana for $100 in cash,” according to the complaint.
After the undercover unit followed Messinger to a home on New York Avenue, he walked to the rear of the residence and “returned with a clear plastic bag containing a green leafy substance,” which deputies field tested and confirmed it to be marijuana in the amount of 9.6 grams, deputies said.
Deputies also discovered later that an 8-year-old girl was also present in the vehicle during the sale, according to the criminal complaint.
Messinger has been charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and child neglect creating risk of injury. He is being held in North Central Regional Jail on $30,000 bond.
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