MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Armstead William Craig, of Ranson, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 240 months incarceration for his role in a drug distribution operation, Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.
“For far too long, illegal drugs have exacted a heavy toll on the lives of hard-working West Virginians. The sentence imposed by Court today makes it abundantly clear that selling drugs in the Northern District of West Virginia comes at a heavy price. In this case, the cost to the defendant is twenty (20) years of his life. It simply is not worth it. The United States Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners will continue to make every effort to drive that message home,” said Bernard.
Craig, also known as “Manny” and “Manny Moo,” age 42, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base” in October 2019. Craig admitted to selling cocaine base for $700 in March 2018 in Jefferson County.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara K. Omps-Botteicher, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and Assistant U.S Attorney Timothy D. Helman prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation; the West Virginia State Police; the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Martinsburg Police Department, the Charles Town Police Department, and the Ranson Police Department investigated.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Original case indictment release here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/33-indicted-heroin-cocaine-and-fentanyl-distribution-operation-berkeley-and-jefferson
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