MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Three defendants from last month’s 41-person Baltimore-to-West Virginia heroin trafficking indictment were convicted in federal court.
Craig Rhodes, 46, of Chambersburg, PA, James Wesley Faircloth, 35, of Martinsburg, WV, and Roma Michelle Bland, 37, also of Martinsburg, WV, each pled guilty on Wednesday to heroin distribution charges, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Rhodes admitted that he conspired to distribute heroin in West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania from November 2014 through February 2015. Faircloth and Bland each admitted to traveling from West Virginia to Baltimore, Maryland to purchase heroin and then returning to West Virginia to sell the heroin they obtained.
Rhodes faces up to 20 years in prison for “Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin." Faircloth and Bland each face up to 5 years in prison for “Aiding and Abetting Interstate Travel in Aid of Racketeering." Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anna Krasinski and Paul Camilletti prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government. The matters were investigated by the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
