5 plead guilty to federal charges for roles in drug ring
Five defendants pleaded guilty to federal charges for their roles in a drug ring that shipped crystal methamphetamine and oxycodone from Las Vegas to Virginia.
They entered their pleas on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
Justin Lowe, 24, Brandon Trivett, 23, Lamar Skipper, 27, Tanner Curd, 23 and Gary Childress, 25, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine or oxycodone. Separately, Skipper pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit money laundering.
The defendants were part of a larger investigation that led to the indictment of 32 people, federal prosecutors said.
A federal investigation found that traffickers were shipping the drugs from Las Vegas to southwest Virginia and eastern Kentucky via package delivery companies like FedEx and the United States Parcel Service.
The operation generated at least $1 million in drug proceeds and the money was transferred through bank accounts or wired between Las Vegas and Virginia.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are among the agencies credited with investigating the case.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.
