"Long Time Coming" Update: Three Defendants Plead Guilty in Connection with Their Roles in Methamphetamine Conspiracy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –   Ambera Roberts, 34, Matthew Edward Depew, 31, and Era Dawn Corder, 46, all of Parkersburg, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. 

According to court documents and statements made in court,  Roberts, Depew and Corder admitted to acquiring and re-distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in furtherance of the conspiracy.  This methamphetamine was acquired and re-distributed in the Parkersburg area between June and September 2021.  Roberts and Corder separately obtained several ounces of methamphetamine directly from Carlo Ramsey and distributed it to third party customers.  Depew acquired several pounds of methamphetamine directly from Robert Sanders, Jr., and distributed it to third party customers.    

Roberts faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced on March 30, 2022.  Depew faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced on March 24, 2022.  Corder faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced on March 23, 2022. 

Carlo Ramsey, Robert Sanders, Jr., and Floyd Dermonta Ramsey are awaiting trial.

The nearly year-long investigation also resulted in more than a dozen arrests on state criminal complaints in Wood County. 

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the excellent investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force (PNTF), the Parkersburg Police Department, the West Virginia State Police, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Vienna Police Department,  the Williamstown Police Department, the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Boyd County (KY) Sheriff’s Department, the Russell (KY) Police Department and the Raceland (KY) Police Department.

Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is handling the prosecution.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00163.

###