MARTINSBURG, WV
Many suspects were arrested after a 163-count federal indictment was unsealed today charging 41 people with interstate heroin trafficking, according to authorities.
Maryland resident Brian Alexander Hall, 27, is alleged to have orchestrated a far-reaching heroin distribution network in which a large group of individuals repeatedly travelled across state lines to procure quantities of heroin from Hall in Baltimore, Maryland, and the surrounding region.
The individuals then returned to locations in West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to redistribute the heroin obtained from Hall. Officers utilized a variety of investigative tools to uncover the communication and interstate travel patterns underlying the drug distribution operation.
“Today’s arrests are just one element in a continuing effort to combat the epidemic of drug abuse in our region,” noted U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld. “It is particularly troubling when drug dealers send their product across state lines and target vulnerable populations for purely economic gain. Federal and local law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions leveraged cutting-edge surveillance techniques to conduct a sophisticated and expedient investigation in this case, and I commend them for their efforts.”
This morning, 35 of the defendants were taken into custody as part of a coordinated, multi-state arrest operation. Those arrested today include:
Jared Michael Belanger, 35, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Lindsay Bohrer, 37, of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia,
Shawn Blain Bowers, 36, of Braddock Heights, Maryland,
Theresa Brewer, 61, of Braddock Heights, Maryland,
Kenneth Bryan Crowley, 38, of Rockville, Maryland,
James R. Dove, 30, of Keyser, West Virginia,
Veronica Gladden, 32, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Harmony Hahn, 31, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Bonnie Hanna, 34, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
James Francis Hansen, Jr., 48, of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia,
Javier Lewis Howard, 32, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
James Miner Jenkins, 36, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Jessica Kesecker, 33, of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia,
Brandon Kidwell, 23, of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia,
Darla Kinser, 29, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Edward Lee Knotts, a.k.a. “Eddie,” 32, of Ranson, West Virginia,
Jeffery David Murphy, a.k.a. “J.D.,” 34, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Brandon Lee Odell, 32, of Inwood, West Virginia,
Scott Andrew Ours, a.k.a. “D,” 32, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Melissa Portrey, a.k.a. “Missy,” 47, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia,
Josh Reid, 32, of Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Craig Rhodes, 46, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania,
Cassandra Elaine Riggs, a.k.a “Casey Braithwaite,” 25, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
James Michael Ross, 32, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Cortney Blaire Saylor, a.k.a “C,” 29, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Megan Saylor, 32, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Robert Hamilton Shanley-Sexton, a.k.a. “Robbie,” 23, of Gaithersburg, Maryland,
Frederick Smitherman, a.k.a. “Freddy,” 36, of Inwood, West Virginia,
William Thomas Stine, a.k.a. “Tom,” 39, of Martinsburg, West Virginia,
Cameron Steinbaugh, 28, of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia,
Teddy Edward Threadgill, 46, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia,
Veronica Thomas, 24, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania,
Bruce Morton Vaudrien, Jr., 45, of Kearneysville, West Virginia,
Michelle Lynn Warnick, 32, of Kearneysville, West Virginia,
William Lee Wasson, a.k.a. “Bill,” 38, of Falling Waters, West Virginia, and
Sarah Marie Weant, 26, of Kearneysville, West Virginia.
Two defendants are currently in state custody, including:
Clinton Dunlap, a.k.a. “K.D.,” 31, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, and
Steward Eugene Whitehead, Jr., a.k.a. “Geno,” 29, of Inwood, West Virginia.
Several individuals have not yet been located, including:
Roma Michelle Bland, 37, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, and
James Wesley Faircloth, 34, of Martinsburg, West Virginia.
