Five people indicted for a methamphetamine distribution operation

ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Five people have been indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Wheeling on April 4, 2017 on methamphetamine distribution charges, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.

Indictments were handed down alleging that a group of individuals from West Virginia, Virginia and California conspired with one another to distribute methamphetamine in Grant County, West Virginia from September 2014 to December 2016.

Those named in the 10-count indictment are:

• Cesar Navarro, 38, Los Angeles, California
• June Catherine Blanchek, 37, Petersburg, West Virginia
• John Wayne Crites, 45, Moorefield, West Virginia
• Kevin L. Navarro, 23, Berryville, Virginia
• Gary Smith, 64, Maysville, West Virginia

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The United States Postal Inspection Service and the West Virginia State Police investigated.

An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.