NEWS RELEASE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
John L. Brownlee United States Attorney Brian McGinn Public Affairs Specialist |
BB&T Building 310 1st Street, S.W., Room 906 Roanoke, Virginia 24011 (540) 857-2974 FAX (540) 857-2179 |
April 16, 2008
FOUR ARRESTED ON DRUG TRAFFICKING AND WIRE-FRAUD CHARGES
United States Attorney John L. Brownlee announced today that Steven Todd Brown, age 39, Deborah Denise Gentry, age 40, Harold Edward Mills, age 54, and James Enoch Sandridge, age 45 all of central Virginia, appeared today before a federal judge in Charlottesville, Virginia, following their arrests this morning, on an indictment returned by a federal Grand Jury sitting in Charlottesville, Virginia. All four were detained pending further proceedings.
These defendants, and others, were charged in a twelve-count indictment with drug trafficking and wire-fraud charges. These charges arose out an investigation begun last year. If the named defendants are convicted of the drug trafficking counts, the indictment also calls for the forfeiture of six parcels of real property in Fluvanna and Louisa Counties.
If convicted on all counts, Mr. Brown faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $4,000,000 fine. The other defendants face up to twenty years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 million. The remaining defendants are actively being pursued; additional arrests are contemplated in the next day or two.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Albemarle County Police Department, Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Central Virginia Regional Jail, Charlottesville Police Department, Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Department, Fluvanna County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Louisa County Sheriff’s Department, University of Virginia Police Department, Virginia Department of Corrections, Virginia State Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Ray B. Fitzgerald will prosecute the case.
A Grand Jury indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.