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May 6, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Eastern Panhandle Resident Entered Guilty
Plea to “Crack” Cocaine Charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A 45 year old Eastern Panhandle resident entered a plea of guilty on May 1, 2009, in United States District Court in Martinsburg before Magistrate Judge David J. Joel.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that JAMES IRVING WARD, also known as “BIG MAN,”entered a plea of guilty to an Indictment charging him with the distribution of cocaine base, also known as “crack,” on September 6, 2007, in Inwood, West Virginia.

WARD, who is currently free on bond pending sentencing, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000.

The case was 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.