Seven Sentenced for Fentanyl Drug Trafficking Operation

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Seven people have been sentenced for their roles in a drug trafficking organization that spanned from Baltimore to the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

The indictment, returned in January 2024 against Gary Brown, Jr., and eighty-one others, charged the defendants with distributing substantial amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties.

Those sentenced this week include:

• James Beau Baker, age 29, of Charles Town, West Virginia, sentenced to 97 months;
• Amanda Nicole Albert, 32, of Knoxville, Maryland, sentenced to 46 months in prison;
• Kendall Axavier Baker, age 32, of Winchester, Virginia, sentenced to time served;
• Kaitlyn Ashley Knight, age 32, of Falling Waters, West Virginia, sentenced to three years' probation;
• Ryan Brennan, age 33, of Strasburg, Virginia, sentenced to five years' probation;
• April Dawn Wentzell, age 37, of Ranson, West Virginia,  sentenced to time served;
• Aaron Joshua James, age 31, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, sentenced to 70 months in prison;

Of the 82 defendants, 80 have been convicted. Including today’s seven, 44 defendants have been sentenced. One defendant, Charles Delroy Singletary, age 44, of Baltimore, Maryland, remains a fugitive.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara Omps-Botteicher and Kyle Kane prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government.

U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.

Investigative agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Pittsburgh Field Division and Baltimore Field Division); the Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the United States Postal Inspection Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the United States Marshals Service;  the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the West Virginia Air National Guard; the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office; Ranson Police Department; Martinsburg Police Department; Charles Town Police Department; the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; Stafford County Sheriff's Office (Virginia); Frederick County Sheriff's Office (Maryland); Frederick County Sheriff's Office (Virginia); Winchester Police Department; and the Clarke County Sheriff's Office (Virginia).

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.