CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Jonathan Gregory Bush, 39, of Charleston, was sentenced today to eight years and one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Bush was a member of a multi-state methamphetamine distribution organization operating in and around Charleston. Bush admitted that he obtained large quantities of methamphetamine in Decatur, Georgia and distributed it in and around Charleston during the spring and summer of 2021. On July 19, 2021, law enforcement officers tracked Bush from Charleston to Decatur where they observed him meet with his supplier, co-defendant Ramon David Alston. After following Bush a short distance from Alston’s residence, officers stopped the vehicle and seized 913 grams of “ICE” methamphetamine.
The case is part of a long-term investigation of methamphetamine distribution that resulted in the conviction of 17 individuals for various drug and firearm offenses in three separate indictments. Bush, Alston and 12 others pleaded guilty. The remaining three, Timothy Wayne Dodd, Douglas Jonathan Wesley and Leo Antoine Smith, were convicted at trial.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha and Putnam County Sheriff’s Departments, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Hanks and Alex Hamner prosecuted the case.
This prosecution was 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.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:22-cr-90 and 2:21-cr-00172.
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