Federal Grand Jury Indicts 12 in Northern Panhandle Drug Cases
Joselyn King Trending
WHEELING -- A dozen people -- 10 from northern Ohio and two from the Northern Panhandle -- have been indicted on federal drug charges, accused of distributing cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl throughout the area.
The cases were investigated by multi-jurisdictional drug task forces based in Weirton, Wheeling and Moundsville which are made up of local, state, and federal agents. The 12 people indicted were a part of five different federal cases -- three involving Wheeling Island and two involving Marshall County.
The individuals charged and the allegations each face are as follows:
– Deangelo Smith, 45, Cleveland (cocaine distribution in Ohio County);
– Derrick Leflore, 35, Cleveland (cocaine distribution in Ohio County);
– Dontrell Ivery, 46, Cleveland (cocaine distribution in Ohio County);
– Alexander Davis, 43, Cleveland (methamphetamine distribution in Ohio County);
– Tiajuana Sharnna Greer, 29, Cleveland (cocaine distribution in Ohio County);
– Ahmere Williams, 20, of Akron (methamphetamine distribution in Marshall County);
– Demarcus R. Brown, 21, Akron (methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution in Marshall County);
– Michael J. Lloyd Jr., 21, Akron (methamphetamine/fentanyl distribution in Marshall County);
– Sirvonte R. Suggs, 18, Akron (methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution in Marshall County);
– Stephan G. Ward, 32, Akron (methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution in Marshall County);
– Carol Hope Lucscious, 36, Wheeling, WV (cocaine distribution in Ohio County); and
– David Bushovisky, 47, Moundsville, WV (methamphetamine distribution in Marshall County)
William Ihlenfeld, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia, said Thursday that there has been a surge of drug trafficking coming from northern Ohio into West Virginia.
"Part of the reason why that occurs is because there's more competition and larger metropolitan areas like Akron and Canton and Cleveland," Ihlenfeld said.
"And they've identified communities in West Virginia as a place where they can perhaps come down and have less competition selling drugs. They're able to perhaps sell the drugs for a little bit more here than they could there because there's less of a supply and we have a demand here.
"So that's typically why we see individuals from other states coming here," he continued. "It's just recently we've seen more people from Akron and Cleveland coming here than we have over the past several years."
While the region from which the drugs are coming may be newer, the drugs themselves are familiar ones to the region, Ihlenfeld said. Crack cocaine has long been an issue in the Northern Panhandle, but more people are seeking powder cocaine these days, Ihlenfeld said. And while authorities don't seize as much fentanyl as other drugs, Ihlenfeld said the volume doesn't need to be as great due to fentanyl's potency.
The methamphetamine sold in the region is now being found in a purer form, Ihlenfeld added. It is being manufactured in Mexico and transported to the area.
Ihlenfeld asks those who see things out of the ordinary in their neighborhoods to provide that information to authorities. It could be a photograph, an image or video from a doorbell camera or even just a license plate number. Citizen cooperation, he said, goes a long way to starting and completing investigations.
"We have a lot of cases that involve information that's been provided to us by the public," he said. "It doesn't make up the entire case, but it's a part. It's an important part of the case.
"Sometimes those tips are what actually get the case started," Ihlenfeld continued. "Something we didn't know about at all. People shouldn't assume that we know about a problem in a particular neighborhood. So they need to get that information to us either anonymously or however they're comfortable doing it and then we can take it and begin to look into it."