The son of a Charleston community leader was sentenced Wednesday to three years' probation after admitting to a federal drug charge.
Matthew Watts II, 31, of Charleston, was sentenced for distributing heroin, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin's office.
Watts was also ordered by U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver Jr. to serve eight months on home confinement, perform 400 hours of public service and participate in an Alcoholics Anonymous program.
Earlier this year, Watts admitted that last year he sold heroin to a confidential informant. The drug deal took place at the 7-Eleven on Washington Street West.
Deputies searched Watts' home, where he lives alone, and found three handguns and $1,075, according to a stipulation of facts Watts agreed to. Some of the money included money from previous transactions monitored by deputies, Watts admitted. On four previous occasions, deputies with the Kanawha Sheriff's Office used the same confidential informant to make controlled purchases of heroin from Watts, he admitted. Watts was originally charged in Kanawha County Magistrate Court last year, but federal prosecutors picked up the case.
Watts did not carry a firearm during any of his heroin dealings, his attorney, David Bungard, of the federal Public Defender's Office, wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Bungard also wrote that Watts suffered from "significant alcohol abuse" and financial problems, which affected his judgment. Watts has three children, the document states.
"Mr. Watts had mounting personal problems in his life at the time that he made the bad decision to get involved with selling heroin," his attorney wrote, adding that his bachelor's degree in recreation from West Virginia State University left him "saddled with a significant student loan debt."
Watts has worked for the past 10 years as a contractor and general maintenance supervisor for residential properties owned by HOPE CDC, his father's nonprofit organization. He wasn't able to find a job that used his college degree, Bungard wrote.
Watts' father, the Rev. Matthew Watts, is the pastor of Grace Bible Church and leads numerous efforts to help Charleston's West Side.
Watts "grew up being tagged with the label of being a 'preacher's kid.' At times, it has been difficult for Mr. Watts to live up to those high expectations of being his father's son," the sentencing memorandum states. "Mr. Watts felt that he was caught in a hopeless situation which caused him to get depressed and remain isolated from his family. Mr. Watts turned to alcohol and marijuana as coping mechanisms for dealing with stress of not being able to make ends meet ... His decision to start selling heroin was not the result of any personal opiate addiction. The small amount of money which he made from these sales went towards paying his monthly bills as well as continuing to fuel his drinking problem."
After his son was arrested last year, Rev. Watts told the Gazette that he loved his son. He said the incident would motivate him to continue trying to help young adults navigate their lives.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.