Widmeyer lauded the efforts of the task force, which he described as "world class." Locations included The Commons shopping center off Exit 12, Pikeside Bowl south of Martinsburg and the Dollar General Store in Kearneysville, W.Va., among other sites, records said.īlunt, who would drive to Baltimore to buy heroin and then return to distribute it, would sometimes arrange to meet at least 10 customers at a time, records said.Īmong those charged are suspects accused of assisting the drug-trafficking network by providing funding to continue the operation. They then observed the defendant allegedly direct, arrange and complete heroin deals in the two counties, records said.īlunt would meet with customers in large parking lots, gas stations or at their residences. 1, police obtained a circuit court order that authorized them to listen to and record communications being transmitted or received from a cellphone being used by Blunt, records said.įrom that point until March 12, officers monitored all communications by Blunt and others who used the cellphone for distributing heroin. The Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crime Task Force began an investigation of Blunt and the distribution of heroin in Berkeley and Jefferson counties in December 2016, court records said. "What we typically see is the users, the addicts here, travel (to the Baltimore area to get heroin)," Olack said. However, Christian is believed to be one of the largest drug dealers who has operated in the Eastern Panhandle for some time, police said. Many of the suspects arrested were known by officers before the drug-trafficking operation was targeted and are "frequent fliers" within the law-enforcement community, police said. Police estimated that at least a kilo of heroin was allegedly distributed in the last couple of months by Christian through the coordinated involvement of the other defendants in the case. "But we're doing everything we can to combat it," she said. Dean Olack said.ĭelligatti said the arrests reflect the "huge problem" that heroin poses in the area. The arrests were not related to a "hodgepodge" of 79 people named two weeks ago in a previous roundup of defendants who had been charged with mostly drug crimes, West Virginia State Police Sgt.
In a collaborative effort, police dismantled the suspected drug ring using a variety of investigative methods, including wire interception of oral and text communications, and aerial and ground surveillance, Harvey said in a statement. Harvey said during the joint news conference held with law-enforcement leaders and Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Catie Wilkes Delligatti.įour of the suspects were arrested in Morgan County as part of the roundup, Sheriff K.C. Police are still looking for some of the suspects, Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Matthew L.
Warrants issued in the cases included 496 charges in Berkeley County and 72 in Jefferson County, officials said. Blunt, 24, of West Virginia Avenue, Martinsburg, was identified by the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crime Task Force as the suspected leader of the drug-distribution network during a news conference at the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department.īlunt has been charged with at least 249 counts of drug distribution-related offenses in Berkeley and Jefferson counties, according to court records.Ī majority of those charged were taken into custody on Friday as a result of an investigation that spanned months, officials said.
At least 52 people in the Eastern Panhandle, including the alleged kingpin, have been charged in connection with a heroin-trafficking ring that extended into neighboring states, authorities announced Friday.Ĭhristian A. In March 2013, Senator Joe Manchin was criticized for agreeing to an interview with The Journal but demanding that he would not be asked any questions about gun control or the Second Amendment.MARTINSBURG, W.Va. Nutting is the current publisher of Ogden Newspapers. Ogden Nutting, began his newspaper career at The Martinsburg Journal as a reporter and news editor. Evening Journal in 1920, to The Martinsburg Journal back to The Evening Journal in 1978 to The Morning Journal in 1990 and to its current name in 1993. The newspaper changed its name in 1913 to The Martinsburg West Va. Byrd sold the paper in 1912 to associate Max von Schlegell, who sold it to H.C. The Journal was established as The Evening Journal in 1907 by Harry F. The Journal is a daily newspaper based in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and serving Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties in the state's Eastern Panhandle.
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