William J. Ihlenfeld, II U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia
Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced the conviction of two men involved in a large-scale drug trafficking operation in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Lance Wade Cole, Jr., 53, from Martinsburg, and Damian Costello, 28, from Harpers Ferry, were found guilty by a federal jury for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and other drugs. They were part of a group with over 80 defendants linked to the Baltimore-based organization led by Gary Brown, Jr. The investigation uncovered more than 100 kilograms of fentanyl.
Before this verdict, 77 defendants had pleaded guilty. Of these, 27 have been sentenced while others await sentencing. Recent sentences include Gregory O’Brien Long, Jr., Amber Jean Davis, Zachary Thomas Doman, John Wesley Yates, Jeremy Jason Crock, and Michael Lee Engle.
Two individuals remain fugitives: Matthew David Viands and Charles Delroy Singletary.
The case is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara Omps-Botteicher and Kyle Kane. The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations among others.
This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations through a collaborative approach.
U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided over the trial.
