Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced today that two men were found guilty for their roles in a massive drug trafficking conspiracy that operated in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.
Lance Wade Cole, Jr., 53, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Damian Costello, 28, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, were found guilty by a federal trial jury of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, methamphetamine hydrochloride, cocaine, and cocaine base. Cole and Costello along with 80 other defendants were involved in the conspiracy. The leader of the Baltimore-based drug trafficking organization was co-defendant, Gary Brown, Jr. The investigation involved over 100 kilograms of fentanyl.
Prior to today’s verdict, seventy-seven (77) defendants had already entered guilty pleas. Fifty (50) defendants are awaiting sentencing. Twenty-seven (27) who have entered pleas have been sentenced. Some of those recently sentenced include:
- Gregory O’Brien Long, Jr., 36, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release;
- Amber Jean Davis, 41, of Bunker Hill, West Virginia, sentenced to 96 months in prison, three years of supervised release;
- Zachary Thomas Doman, 24, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, sentenced to 70 months, three years of supervised release;
- John Wesley Yates, 37, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, sentenced to 70 months in prison, three years of supervised release;
- Jeremy Jason Crock, 43, of Romney, West Virginia, sentenced to 87 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release;
- Michael Lee Engle, 47, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, sentenced to 57 months, three years of supervised release.
Two (2) defendants, Matthew David Viands, of Summit Point, West Virginia, and Charles Delroy Singletary, of Baltimore, Maryland, are fugitives.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara Omps-Botteicher and Kyle Kane are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Investigative agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Pittsburgh Field Division and Baltimore Field Division); the Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the United States Postal Inspection Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the United States Marshals Service; the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the West Virginia Air National Guard; the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office; Ranson Police Department; Martinsburg Police Department; Charles Town Police Department; the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; Stafford County Sheriff’s Office (Virginia); Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (Maryland); Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (Virginia); Winchester Police Department; and the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office (Virginia).
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Original press release here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/investigators-dismantle-fentanyl-drug-trafficking-network-eastern-panhandle