Timothy Gerace Sentenced to Ten Years

ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney Anthony P. Giorno announced today that Timothy Gerace was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon after having previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.  Gerace was the final defendant to be sentenced in the multi-jurisdictional investigation of methamphetamine distribution, “Operation Saltvegas.”     

Timothy Gerace, 55, of Mountain City, Tenn., previously entered a plea of guilty to one count of a multi-count indictment charging him with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.  According to evidence presented at the guilty plea and sentencing hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee, Gerace and co-defendant Richard Shaw were suppliers of large quantities of methamphetamine to more than twenty-five sub-distributors in both Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Gerace’s conduct was uncovered as part of a multi-agency investigation involving federal, state and local law enforcement in both Virginia and Tennessee.  As part of his plea, Gerace admitted to being involved in the distribution of more than five kilograms of methamphetamine.  As a result of the investigation, twenty-seven individuals have pleaded guilty and been sentenced for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and twenty individuals have been sentenced as a result of the investigation.  The defendants sentenced are:

Jeramiah Yates, 34, Vilas, NC – 37 months imprisonment

Melvin Campbell, 45, Mountain City, TN – 7 months imprisonment

Daniel Reece, 46, Mountain City, TN – 72 months imprisonment

Linda Walters, 46, Mountain City, TN – 12 months and 1 day imprisonment

Russell Wayne Cassell a/k/a “Rusty”, 44, Glade Spring, VA – 41 months imprisonment

Kenneth Craig Buchanan a/k/a “Bubba”, 50, Glade Spring, VA – 24 months imprisonment

Stephanie Patrick, 40, Glade Spring, VA – 24 months imprisonment

Roger Lawson, 65, Glade Spring, VA – 46 months imprisonment

Toby Mock, 44, Glade Spring, VA – 6 months imprisonment

Rachel Peake, 44, Atkins, VA – 6 months imprisonment

Jason Mullinax, 37, Chilhowie, VA – 36 months imprisonment

Roger Austin, Jr. a/k/a “Fat Rog”, 52, Glade Spring, VA – 121 months imprisonment

Angela Surber, 40, Chilhowie, VA – 37 months imprisonment

Timothy Nickolas Rabara, 26, Marion, VA – 5 years’ probation

Albert Hague, 56, Mountain City, TN – 30 months imprisonment

Kimberly Ann Bradley, 44, Johnson City, TN – 12 months and 1 day imprisonment

James Poore a/k/a “Danny”, 48, Glade Spring, VA – 18 months imprisonment

Tony Delp, Glade Spring, VA – 6 months imprisonment

Katherine Mitchell, 55, Saltville, VA – 78 months imprisonment

Gary Lee Howell, 53, Saltville, VA – 121 months imprisonment

Jim Grindstaff , 49, Mountain City, TN - 63 months imprisonment

Michael Brady Lester, 43, Abingdon, VA – 42 months imprisonment

Joseph Nathan Hall, 36, Abingdon, VA – 60 months imprisonment

William Hunt, Jr., 54, Abingdon, VA – 16 months imprisonment

Brandi Marie Dunford, 35, Abingdon, VA – 60 months imprisonment

Angeline Delp, 52, Glade Spring, VA - 6 months imprisonment

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Russell County Sheriff’s Office, Smyth County Sheriff’s Office, Abingdon Police Department, Virginia State Police, Johnson County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Marshals Service.  The Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the Washington County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office also assisted in the investigation and prosecution of this case.  Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee is prosecuting the case for the United States.