On Wednesday WSAZ reported the first part of the two-day operation, Operation Centennial Sweep, which has been in the works for roughly one year. Among those arrested were the ringleaders, one in Huntington and two in Detroit, of a group that had been operating in Huntington for nearly 15 years. Kenneth Eversole, 44, was arrested late afternoon Dec. 1, when law enforcement from a multitude of agencies conducted a search-and-seizure warrant on his residence at 197 Mozelle St. in Keyser. He worked with an FBI agent, Joe Ciccarelli, with a long history of drug investigations. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. The roundup, dubbed Operation Mountain Justice, was executed by the Central West Virginia Drug Task Force, in coordination with the prosecuting attorneys of Fayette and Nicholas counties, as well as several local and federal law enforcement agencies. 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They didnt go for that, he said. Weekly Fairmont news emailed every Thursday evening! Report a Closing. The Page County Sheriff's Office reported narcotics investigators made the largest seizure of methamphetamine in department history. Operation Tranquilandia was led by the DEA in 1984. Officers seized 24 firearms, 30 kilograms of heroin, 5 kilograms of cocaine and more than $700,000 in cash along with 30 kilograms of fentanyl, according to a press release from the US attorneys office. As of Thursday afternoon, 90 of the 100 people law enforcement officials were seeking had been rounded up, said Fayette County Prosecutor Larry Harrah. Over 100 arrests in Jackson County after biggest drug warrant sweep in West Virginia history, Parent volunteer charged in alleged relationship with a minor, Man faces dozens of child sex abuse charges, One recovering after shooting in Kanawha County. Shorty wanted to be a "Thug". The illicit fentanyl thats coming in, the vast majority is from China and a lot of it is coming in through the mails, he said at a press conference announcing the arrests. 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Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. In 2007, someone anonymously tipped off the West Virginia medical board that Tiano was prescribing illegally. 2. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. Get the River Cities Tribune & Register Delivered to your email everyday! BRIDGEPORT In a collaborative effort from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, more than 80 people have been charged in one of the biggest drug busts in North Central West. Huntington is a safer city today, but we continue to be vigilant.. I would also like to thank the public for the copious number of tips that lead to these types of narcotics being removed from the streets.. Weather Alerts. The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia. Still at largewere Mota, Luna, Rodriguez, Longus, Rose,Orrillio,Velasquez-Lopez,Pinkcett, Gregory, Brown and Nunez-Arias, authorities said. JACKSON COUNTY, WV (WOWK) The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is leading the single largest drug investigation warrant sweeps in West Virginia's history. Updated Copyright 2021 WSAZ. The unemployment rate comes in at a scary 11.0%, while even people who find jobs have to make due with a median income of just $36,793. Operation Angels Envy also had a far-reaching impact throughout the DMV. Published: Sep. 13, 2020 at 1:02 PM PDT. West Virginia leads the nation by far in the rate of drug overdose deaths. They said I was right in what I was alleging. Tug Valley Pharmacy was late to the gold rush, but swiftly made up for lost time. In 2001, the West Virginia bureau of criminal investigation sent Smith to investigate a surge of opioids pills on the streets. According to the sheriffs office, investigators seized 50 kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of fentanyl, one kilogram of heroin, six pounds of marijuana, 150 grams of crack cocaine, 100 fentanyl pills, seven firearms including one assault rifle, and $1.4 million in cash in Loudoun County. The two decades of the opioid epidemic is a story of missed opportunities, large and small. The alleged drug trafficking ring is an example of fentanyl coming to the US from China, said US Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia. Tiano lost his medical licence. You have permission to edit this article. Police say 33-year-old James Martell Frazier, of Cambridge, Maryland, and Seaford, Delaware, was the leader, supervisor, financier and manager of an illegal drug network that spanned multiple . Invalid password or account does not exist. Marshals Service and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were among the agencies involved in the mass arrest, as well as the West Virginia State Police, Summersville Police Department, Nicholas County Sheriffs Department, Richwood Police Department, Fayette County Sheriffs Department, Fayetteville Police Department, Oak Hill Police Department, Mount Hope Police Department and the Montgomery Police Department. Winds light and variable. Officers then searched the vehicle and found several grams of methamphetamine and drug-using instruments. n Richwood area: Daniel Copen, Lola Copen, A.J. JACKSON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Dozens of people have been arrested in a large scale drug warrant sweep that is underway in Jackson County, West Virginia . Month by month, the orders escalated. However, what they did is they talked to the pharmacists and told them they couldnt do that any more, he said. Officers say they confiscated 20 grams of fentanyl. "The operation in this case, I think it's fair to say, dealt with millions of dollars of drugs and proceeds," he said. The boards punishment was to require him to write a book report on a medical textbook called Responsible Opioid Prescribing: A Physicians Guide. Wooley decided to follow the Williamson model by setting up a doctor to churn out opioid prescriptions for him to fill. Ballengee and the other drug store owners kept escalating the orders, and the distributors filled them without flinching. Four suspects named in the indictment remain at large: Jennifer Bing, Parris McMillan, Mark David and Travis Walters, Terwilliger said. The Jackson County Bureau of Investigations spearheaded the investigation with the aid of officers from the Jackson County Sheriffs Department, Ravenswood Police Department, United States Marshal, Drug Enforcement Administration, West Virginia State Police and West Virginia Department of Natural Resources. Its things like that you can put in front of a jury and theyre going to go, that aint right. Daily News, Sports and Events for Preston County. Both Ellifritz and Bruce expressed their appreciation for all the departments working together in order to execute this warrant. ELKINS, W.Va (WDTV) - Five West Virginians from Gilmer and Grant counties face charges in a drug conspiracy that involved enough fentanyl to kill 20,000 . All those arrested were transported to previously established areas for processing before being transported to magistrate courts for their arraignments. One individual charged had been deported in 2014 and reentered the US illegally. Do Not Sell My Personal Information At the Disco breaking up after almost 20 years of music (FlipSide). 9. "And we introduced law . Barnett, who owned Family Pharmacy, also professed not to know the reputation of the Wellness Center or that it had a list of acceptable pharmacies for patients to fill opioid prescriptions and that his was on it. According to indictments . Before long, it was outselling its rivals in town. The task force said the arrests occurred after investigators made hundreds of controlled purchases of narcotics and gathered evidence to substantiate the allegations before obtaining warrants. You have permission to edit this article. The FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. The suspects transported the drugs using hidden traps in privately owned vehicles, semi-trailers, trucks, and recreational vehicles, authorities said. In some cases, the defendants face penalties of five to 40 years in prison, 20 years in prison and 10 years to life, Bernard said. These junkies would forge prescriptions, and back in the pre-computer days I can remember standing in pharmacies going through prescriptions going, thats a junkie, thats a junkie, these are false scripts, said Ciccarelli, who has since died, in 2017. On Monday, officers arrested Eric Armstrong, 38; Krystal Dellagatta, 30 and Roger Ware, 43, and seized 1.7 pounds of methamphetamine. In 2009 alone, Ballengee ordered 3m hydrocodone pills. Our culture is so messed up. The pharmacist persuaded his assistant at the drugstore, Debra Justice, to set up a medical clinic just outside Kermit and they recruited a doctor more than an hour away at Marshall Universitys medical school, Dr John Tiano. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Thunderstorms this evening will give way to steady rain overnight. "Project Parkersburg was a game changer - it netted the largest meth bust in West Virginia history and resulted in more than a dozen defendants being prosecuted by my . All rights reserved. This big drug bust is similar to the others because it's linked to -- you guessed it -- cocaine. In December, Easton admitted to selling. Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Bernard saidMota is accused of using hisbusiness, Top 3 Sources on West Washington Street, to store and sell drugs and launder the proceeds. Roughly enough Heroin to supply an estimated 500,000 heroin users for a month. Area listings from Your Bulletin Board with regular updates. Chris Cooper A search warrant lead to the arrest of John Ingram and Christopher Cooper. Unfortunately with his views he will probably be taken in by Aryan Nation, DMI, or some other club for insecure underdeveloped white folks. On one day in August 2016, more than two dozen people in Huntington overdosed on heroin during a five-hour span. Thirty people in the drug organization were indicted in state and federal court in southern West Virginia, and more arrest and search warrants were anticipated in Detroit, he said. You have different levels of culpability within the investigation, its important to attack it on all levels top to bottom because, ultimately when you have a few misdemeanors sprinkled in, there going to actually help your felony investigations.. Under oath, Wooley said he didnt remember ever seeing articles in trade magazines warning about escalating opioid addiction, or patients going from one doctor to another in search of multiple prescriptions. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. And there are big lines from the first day, said Smith. In 2016, a major drug distributor, McKesson abruptly ended its contract with Tug Valley Pharmacy when West Virginias attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, filed a lawsuit against the company accusing it of recklessly distribution millions of pills across the state. Law enforcement officials are encouraging members of the public who have information concerning the suspects involved to contact authorities. Millions more were shipped to another pharmacy, Hurleys Drug Store, four blocks away. Sign up to receive our daily newsletter about all things business and politics in West Virginia. I was blown away. Its hard to believe that was allowed.. Smith went and watched. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. The Best News for Buckhannon and Upshur County! Hourly & 8-Day Forecast. Sign up to get our statewide obits delivered to your inbox daily. Student loan borrowers are left in limbo on the exact date for when they will have to begin repayments after a three-year pause from the coronavirus pandemic. Choose wisely! The charges for those arrested include distribution of controlled substances and conspiracy. What you need to know for today! Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. 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