CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Two members of a heroin distribution ring operating in Washington County, Ohio and Wood County, West Virginia were sentenced today, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Cordaro “Chops" Johnson, 23, and Zina Wakefield, 28, previously pleaded guilty in August 2014 to distribution of heroin. Johnson was sentenced to 44 months in federal prison. Wakefield was sentenced to three years of probation.
This case was prosecuted as part of an investigation by the Parkersburg Police Department into a drug trafficking organization with ties to Marion, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois. Daquarri Coats, 21, and Keith Irons, 23 of Marion, Ohio, and Marion Felder of Upper Sandusky, Ohio are currently serving, or have served federal prison sentences. Gerri Rae Parker, 30, of Parkersburg awaits sentencing in February 2015.
Assistant U.S. Attorney, Joshua C. Hanks handled the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
