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August 18, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Martinsburg Resident Enters Plea to Heroin Charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - A 22 year old Martinsburg, West Virginia, resident entered a plea of guilty on August 16, 2010, in United States District Court in Martinsburg before Magistrate Judge David J. Joel.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced that NICHOLAS DEMINDS entered a plea of guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin on January 29, 2009, in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. During the execution of a search warrant, DEMINDS attempted to flush approximately 100.667 grams of heroin down the toilet but there was so much of the drug, it would not flush. DEMINDS, who is in custody pending sentencing, faces a maximum exposure of 5 to 40 years imprisonment and a fine of $2,000,000.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas O. Mucklow. 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.