Operation Second Wave Update: Three Men Appear in Federal Court

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced that three defendants charged in Operation Second Wave made appearances in federal court.  Gregory Eugene Woods, 43, of Dunbar, was sentenced to a total of 184 months in federal prison.  He was sentenced as a career offender to 160 months for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, followed by a consecutive term of  24 months based upon his supervised release violation. Jason Michael Terrell, 37, of Mt. Carbon, and Jimmy Lee Coleman, 35, of Falls View, pled guilty conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  Woods, Terrell, and Coleman are three of the 14 defendants charged as a result of a long-term investigation known as “Second Wave,” which dismantled a poly-drug network operating in Kanawha and Fayette counties.

“Operation Second Wave shut down a significant poly-drug network.  Kanawha and Fayette counties are no doubt safer as a result,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “I commend all of the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that worked on this case. It is through their relentless, collaborative efforts that we can hold drug dealers accountable for their crimes.” 

Woods previously pled guilty and admitted that on April 21, 2020, the Charleston Police Department stopped him when he was on his way to deliver cocaine to Terrell.  A search of Woods’ vehicle resulted in the seizure of over two ounces of cocaine.  He was on federal supervised release at the time of the stop based upon being convicted in 2015 in the Southern District of West Virginia of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and use of a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking.  Woods had additional previous felony convictions including three convictions for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, one conviction for possession with intent to deliver Ecstasy, and another conviction for unlawful wounding.

Terrell admitted distributing multiple pounds of methamphetamine along with quantities of heroin and cocaine in and around Montgomery between July 2019 and August 26, 2020.  He further admitted traveling with two co-defendants to Columbus, Ohio where they purchased approximately two pounds of methamphetamine and brought it back to West Virginia to sell.  Coleman admitted to selling more than a pound of methamphetamine between January and August 2020. 

Coleman faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on April 26, 2021.  Terrell faces at least ten years and up to life in prison when he is sentenced on May 17, 2021.

Other defendants, including Larry Terrence Martin, Sammy Joe Fragale, Sr., and Sammy Joe Fragale II, have also pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Carol Lynn Belton, Steven Matthew Bumpus, Roger Jarea Drake, Rashawn Akmed Miller, Craig Redman, Tonya Simerly, and Ronald Lee Thomas III are scheduled for trial on April 27, 2021.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central West Virginia Drug Task Force (CWVDTF), the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, the Charleston Police Department, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) conducted the investigation with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who led the investigation of Sammy Joe Fragale, Sr., and Sammy Joe Fragale II, who were also prosecuted as part of the Second Wave investigation. Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearings.  Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is handling the prosecution.

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 Nos. 2:20-cr-00153 (Woods) and 2:20-cr-00154 (Terrell et al).

• Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews and USAttyStuart

###