22 people indicted in drug trafficking enterprise that spanned several states

 MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Twenty-two people are facing charges in a multi-state organized drug trafficking enterprise dubbed the “19th Street Enterprise,” U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

“Protecting the community is both my biggest responsibility and greatest honor. This case involves a tangled web of drugs, violence, and money and it was being orchestrated by those outside of our state, with enough fentanyl to kill two and half times the population of West Virginia. We will not tolerate others preying on our residents and will continue to work to bring all of those who do so to justice,” said Powell.

The 22 were indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Wheeling on October 7, 2020 on charges involving a drug distribution operation spanning Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and other locations. The criminal enterprise consisted of racketeering to hide thousands of dollars in proceeds from drug sales, acts of violence, and the distribution of more than 400 grams of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine hydrochloride. They are:

•    Christopher Arthur Jones, also known as “Smooth,” 35, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Gregory Reese, also known as “Geez,” 38, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Tyrone Kareem Thomas, also known as “Mack,” 40, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Eric Jones, 36, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Catia Quinones, 36, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Christian Lamar Goode, also known as “Lil Chris,” 35, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Dominic Asquith, also known as “Dom,” 35, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Kathryn Annette Batis, also known as “Kitty,” 35, of Martinsburg, West Virginia
•    Keyontray Daniel Johnson, also known as “38,” 24, of Worton, Maryland
•    Michael Davon Moore, also known as “Smiley,” 26, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Anthony Peterson, also known as “Ant Man,” 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Cody Xavier Brown, also known as “Bricks,” 21, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Brian Jones, also known as “B,” 61, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•    Arnel Hategekimana, also known as “Homie,” 21, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
•    Andre Jason Burgos, also known as “Ghost,” 30, of Wilmington, Delaware
•    Joshua Raymond, 32, of Martinsburg, West Virginia
•    John Suffare Beavers, II, 34, of Hedgesville, West Virginia
•    Barbara Jean Feltner, 32, of Martinsburg, West Virginia
•    Maxwell Edward Sanderlin, 33, of Martinsburg, West Virginia
•    Kevin Gene Barron, 44, of Martinsburg, West Virginia
•    Bonnie Lou Breeden, 51, of Martinsburg, West Virginia
•    Rebecca Branham, 50, of Martinsburg, West Virginia

The indictment charges 11 of the 22 defendants with crimes under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering statute (VICAR). These racketeering-based statutes provide criminal penalties up to life imprisonment for acts performed as part of a criminal organization, and support charges for those who only ordered or assisted others to carry out the illegal acts. The indictment alleges that the “19th Street Enterprise” enriched the leaders, members, and associates of the enterprise through among other things, acts of violence, robbery, money laundering, and drug trafficking. 

The crimes are alleged to have occurred in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties and elsewhere from June 2019 to October 2020.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; the Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; and the West Virginia Air National Guard investigated. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Kent County Sheriff’s Office assisted.

These charges are the result of investigations supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) under the Attorney General-led Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS)/Special Operations Division (SOD) Project Clean Sweep.  This initiative seeks to reduce the supply of synthetic opioids in “hot spot” areas previously identified by the Attorney General of the United States, thereby reducing drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths, and identify wholesale distribution networks and sources of supply operating nationally and internationally. 

OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy.  Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.