By Pat Thomas
Published: Feb. 23, 2022 at 3:24 PM EST
ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ/US Attorney’s Office Release) - 13 people in the Roanoke area have been arrested on a variety of federal charges, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. Charges include distribution of heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine, possession of explosives by a felon, and illegal storage of explosives.
“These charges are the result of a federal, state and local law enforcement partnership working together to stem the tide of crime in the Roanoke Valley. We all know the harm that narcotics trafficking causes to a community, which too often includes cycles of escalating violence,” said United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh. “This effort is just one of the ways the United States Attorney’s Office is seeking to hold accountable those individuals who undermine the safety of our community, and we are committed to working with our law enforcement partners and community members to provide assistance to those who want to see it thrive.”
“Today the Roanoke community witnessed a significant, coordinated law enforcement effort undertaken by the FBI and our partners with the Roanoke City and Roanoke County Police Departments, and the Virginia State Police,” said Stanley Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division. “Care and caution for these communities have been pivotal in our planning to address the increase in crime occurring in the Roanoke area; and with today’s effort and concerted efforts in the last few months, we have been able to remove a number of offenders from your streets. This is not over. The FBI remains committed to working with our partners and community members to address crime threats in these communities and hold criminals accountable. We ask that you please continue to assist law enforcement by reporting criminal activity.”
“We are grateful that our department can partner with these agencies at every level of the criminal justice system to hold these individuals accountable,” said Roanoke City Police Chief Sam Roman. “These are individuals who wish to cause harm through organized crime in our community, and this shows them and others like them that we will not stand for their behavior in Roanoke. We will do all we can with all the resources we have available to hold them responsible for their destructive, violent actions.”
“With overdose deaths increasing at an alarming rate across the Commonwealth, this investigative operation is extremely timely and essential to our state, local, and federal public safety initiatives to safeguard communities from the violence and tragedy so often associated with drug abuse and distribution,” said Captain Jeffrey A. Bartlett, Virginia State Police Bureau of CriminalInvestigation’s Salem Field Office. “This is just the beginning of our collaborative efforts to remove high-level drug network operators who make it their business to prey on the Roanoke and Salem communities.”
“The suspects arrested and indicted today are responsible for bringing dangerous drugs into the Roanoke Valley that poison our citizens,” Roanoke County Police Chief Howard Hall said. “Removing them from our community makes us all safer.”
“Today’s announcement is our collective way of saying we have had enough. Narcotics distribution in our communities is dangerous and detrimental to the safety of everyone,” said Charlie J. Patterson, ATF Washington Field Division Special Agent in Charge. “Protecting the public is our top priority. ATF remains focused on collaborating and lending resources to our local, state and federal partners in our continuing effort to combat violent crime.”
Dozens arrested as part of Halifax County drug operation
Arrested over the last two weeks were:
- Thomas Mauney, 31, Roanoke- Distribution of heroin and fentanyl.
- Destiny Jones, 29, Roanoke - Distribution of fentanyl.
- Shaewon Leon Smith, 33, Roanoke- Distribution of fentanyl and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
- Shakeem Malik Hunt, 27, Roanoke- Distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine.
- Isiah Surles, 26, Roanoke - Distribution of cocaine.
- Richard “Bugatti” Brown, Roanoke - Distribution of cocaine.
- Travon Hardy, 28, Roanoke - Distribution of heroin and fentanyl.
- Anthony Haynes, 32, Roanoke - Distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine
- Richard Leon Cotton, 43, Roanoke- Distribution of heroin and fentanyl.
- Robert Wright, 28, Vinton - Possession of explosives by a felon, illegal storage of explosives.
The following have been arrested in recent weeks on similar federal charges as part of the same effort:
- Daunte Rashad Lamonde, 28, Roanoke- Possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
- Torrence Lamont Smith, 41, Roanoke- Possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
- Anthony Dwayne Banks, 31, Roanoke- Distribution of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
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