Defendants Charged with Operating Drug Conspiracy in Lee County that Distributed Meth
Abingdon, VIRGINIA - A federal grand jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon have indicted seven individuals on federal drug conspiracy charges, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.
The grand jury has charged Jeremy Rick Sturgill, 40, of Jonesville, Va., Tony Lynn Ketron, 27, of Church Hill, Tenn., Todd Houston Conyer, 29, of Pennington Gap, Va., Leslie Ann Clasby, 42, of Jonesville, Va., Jason Dale Moore, 36, of Jonesville, Va., William Benjamin Brewer, 35, of Jonesville, Va. and Kristina Karen Burton, 43, of Jonesville, Va.
The indictment, unsealed last week, charges each of the seven defendants with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Sturgill is also charged with three counts of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of maintaining a place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing and using methamphetamine, two counts of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Ketron is also charged with two counts of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, two counts of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force. Special Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Kerney-Quillen, a Virginia Assistant Attorney General assigned to the Attorney General’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Section, prosecuted the case for the United States.
A Grand Jury Indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
