MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Corey Bircher, of Elk Garden, West Virginia, and Steve William Gray, of Luray, Virginia, have admitted to their roles in a methamphetamine conspiracy, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Bircher, age 25, pled guilty to one count of “Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime." Bircher admitted to having a.357 revolver during a methamphetamine distribution crime in February 2018 in Mineral County.
Gray, age 39, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine." He admitted to conspiring with others to distribute methamphetamine from August 2017 to June 2018 in Mineral, Hardy, and Hampshire Counties.
Bircher is facing no less than five years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Gray is facing up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,00,000. 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 defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, The West Virginia State Police, and the Potomac Highlands Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force investigated.
The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
