Federal Grand Jury Indicts Twenty-Six for Drug Trafficking

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – A Federal grand jury has indicted 26 people in seven cases for the trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, and methamphetamine.

United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced that Quavonte Pugh, also known as “Q,” “Q Man,” and “Brother,” age 28, of Wheeling, West Virginia, and 11 others were named in a 16-count superseding indictment charging them with the operation of a fentanyl, cocaine base, and cocaine trafficking enterprise that spanned from Las Vegas, Nevada to the Ohio Valley. The indictments were the result of a comprehensive investigation that included the execution of five federal search warrants at locations in West Virginia and Ohio on March 29. During the searches, officers seized controlled substances, firearms, and cash.

The others charged in the Pugh indictment are Dalen Cage, 30, of Las Vegas, Nevada; James Galloway, 28, of Bellaire, Ohio; James Kidder, also known as “Jamey,” 47, of Martins Ferry, Ohio; Brady McKinley, 45, of Adena, Ohio; and Maria Cunningham, 46, Quamya Pugh, 25, Steven Aldridge, 26, Caviezz Cunningham, 29, Daryl Smith, 50, Tyrique Anthony Davis, 28, and Matthew Clemont, 31, all of Wheeling.

“The Pugh organization caused significant amounts of illicit drugs to be trafficked throughout the region,” said United States Attorney Ihlenfeld. “The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force worked closely with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office and together they dismantled the group and disrupted the supply of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs to the area.”

According to Ihlenfeld, the same grand jury returned six additional indictments alleging fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking, as follows:

Indictment Two: Rodrican M. Pavlick, also known as “Smooth” and “Rico”, of Cleveland, Ohio, Seanelle P. Whorton, of Benwood, West Virginia, and Josie M. Midcap, of Moundsville, West Virginia, for fentanyl trafficking in Marshall County;

Indictment Three: Lawrence “Larry” Reagan and Jennifer Ann Miller, also known as Jennifer Reagan, both of Colliers, West Virginia, for methamphetamine trafficking in Brooke County and Hancock County;

Indictment Four: Amanda Leigh Bush, James Adam Vipperman, Noah Andrew Blake, and Joseph Lee Wells, all of Moundsville, West Virginia, for methamphetamine trafficking in Marshall County;

Indictment Five: Arrests pending of two individuals for methamphetamine trafficking in Marshall County;

Indictment Six: Arrests pending of two individuals for methamphetamine trafficking in Marshall County;

Indictment Seven: Arrest pending of one individual for methamphetamine trafficking in Wetzel County.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carly Nogay and Clayton Reid and U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld are prosecuting the cases on behalf of the United States.

Investigative agencies include the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Marshall County Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office; the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office; the Wheeling Police Department; the Benwood Police Department; and the Belmont County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.