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March 18, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Eastern Panhandle Resident
Charged in “Crack” Indictment

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A 46 year old Eastern Panhandle resident was named in an Indictment returned on March 17, 2009, by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that JAMES IRVING WARD, also known as “BIG MAN,” was named in a one-count Indictment charging him with the distribution of cocaine base, also known as “crack,” on September 6, 2007, in Berkeley County, West Virginia.

If convicted, WARD faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin K. Reisenweber. The case was investigated by the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers from the West Virginia State Police - Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Martinsburg Police Department, and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department.

It should be noted that the charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.