Athens, Ala., Man Indicted for Trafficking Meth, Illegally Possessing Gun

BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury late Thursday indicted an Athens, Ala., man for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and illegally possessing a firearm, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Robert O. Posey and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bret Hamilton.

A five-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges VALENTINE NAVA, 35, with conspiring with others, who are not named in the indictment, to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in Limestone County between November 2013 and November 2016.

The indictment also charges Nava with two counts of possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, once on Nov. 7, 2015, and again on Nov. 4, 2016. The indictment further charges Nava with possessing a firearm, a Beretta .40-caliber pistol, on Nov. 4, 2016, in Limestone County, in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense. It also charges that Nava was a convicted felon when he possessed the gun.

According to the indictment, Nava was convicted in Limestone County Circuit Court in September 2012 for shooting into an occupied vehicle, and was convicted in Madison County Circuit Court in June 2015 for possession of a controlled substance.

The maximum penalty for the conspiracy and the possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine charges is 10 years to life in prison and a $10 million fine. The minimum prison penalty for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime is five years in prison, which must be served after completion of any other sentence related to the crime. The maximum penalty for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

DEA investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell is prosecuting.

An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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