Drug Traffickers Involved in Fatal Eastern Avenue Gunfight Sentenced

ROANOKE, Va. – A pair of Roanoke men involved in a fatal shooting at an Eastern Avenue drug house in the City of Roanoke were sentenced yesterday in federal court for their roles in the shootings and related drug trafficking activities.

Aaron Lee Woods, 28, was sentenced yesterday to more than 20 years in federal prison. Chad Matthew Custer, 23, was also sentenced yesterday to 16 years’ incarceration. Both men previously pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of 100 kilograms or more of marijuana as well as one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

A third man, Darion Mantez Harvey was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison in May 2022 for related conduct.

According to court documents, in October 2018, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began investigating a drug trafficking organization involving Woods, Custer, and  Harvey.

During the course of the investigation, authorities learned that Woods, Harvey, Custer, and other co-conspirators used Woods’ apartment on Eastern Avenue as the primary site for their large-scale  distribution of marijuana in the Roanoke Valley from late 2017 through approximately August 2019.  Witnesses told police that customers would stream in and out of the apartment at all hours of the day and night buying marijuana from the defendants, who kept their loaded firearms in plain view. 

In the early evening hours of July 10, 2018, a car containing five individuals arrived at the Eastern Avenue apartment where a gun battle broke out with Harvey, Woods, and Custer on one side and the newly-arrived individuals on the other. While four of the individuals fled on foot, a fifth individual was in a vehicle driving away from the scene when a bullet struck him in the back of the head and killed him.  

Investigators recovered multiple firearms used by Woods, Harvey, and Custer during the shootout, including high-powered, military-style rifles with laser sights as well as multiple handguns and ammunition.

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, Special Agent in Charge Craig B. Kailimai of the Washington Division and Roanoke Police Chief Sam Roman made the announcement today.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the City of Roanoke Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charlene R. Day, and Matthew M. Miller prosecuted the case for the United States.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.