Six indicted for shipping methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine from California to Ohio

Six people were indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to bring methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine to Ohio from California and then sell the drugs here and in West Virginia, Acting U.S. Attorney David A. Sierleja.

Named in the 19-count indictment are: Roya Tabatabai, 32, of Grafton; Omid Tabatabai, 36, of Los Angeles; Joshua Thacker, 36, of Elyria; Joseph Bratkovich, 41, of Wellington; Gabrielle Fry, 22, of California, and Nancy Rhode, 39, fo Maysel, W. Va.

Omid Tabatabai obtained multi-kilogram shipments of methamphetamine and cocaine from suppliers in Los Angeles. He and others would then mail weekly shipments of the drugs to his sister, Roya Tabatabai and others, according to the indictment.

Roya Tabatabai, in turn, distributed the methamphetamine to Thacker, Bratkovich, Rhodes and others in Ohio and West Virginia. She used her house at 36097 Capel Road in Grafton to store and distribute the methamphetamine and cocaine, according to the indictment.

Omid Tabatabai, Thacker and Bratkovich used firearms to protect their drug trafficking activities. The conspiracy took place between 2015 and this year, according to the indictment.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vasile Katsaros and Phillip Tripi following an investigation by the DEA and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.