NEWS RELEASE

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA

March 20, 2003, 9:30 pm

Five Found Guilty of Six-Year Conspiracy to Sell Crack Cocaine in Front Royal

United States Attorney John L. Brownlee and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Special Agent In Charge, Jeffrey R. Roehm, announced this evening that a jury in Harrisonburg, Virginia, convicted Arnold Jackson, Kelly Stanback, Howard Beard, Calvin Buchanan, and Jessie Newton, of various federal firearm and drug charges.

This was the first trial to come out of a long term investigation conducted by the ATF and the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug Task-Force of armed drug traffickers from New York and Washington, D.C., who, for almost a decade, supplied crack cocaine to Front Royal, Virginia. The trial began on Monday, March 17, 2003, with the United States prepared to try Arnold Jackson, Kelly Stanback, Howard Beard, Calvin Buchanan, Harvey Davis, and Jessie Newton. Davis pleaded guilty to the indictment at the beginning of the trial, and the other five were convicted of twenty-two firearm and narcotics counts. All five of the defendants who were found guilty by the jury face a potential penalty of life in prison.

The federal prosecution of this case began in July of last year with an indictment of twenty-six individuals by a federal Grand Jury in Charlottesville, Virginia. The indictment alleged that the defendants worked together, and with others, to distribute crack cocaine that they obtained from Washington, D.C., and New York City. The indictment alleged that they operated a cocaine distribution network in our community for over six years. As of this writing, seventeen of those charged have pleaded guilty to various federal charges, and five have been found guilty at trial. One defendant, William Thomas, was apprehended in Washington, D.C., the week before trial, and is currently held in jail without bond. Three of the defendants remain fugitives.

For many years, Jackson and Stanback controlled the drug trade on the 3000 block of Sherman Avenue in Northwest Washington, D.C., and they, in conjunction with others, sold pounds and pounds of crack cocaine in Front Royal where they could get better prices for their product than they could in Washington. Beard was supplied with crack cocaine by a source in New York City. Buchanan received cocaine from Beard and had his own source in the Washington, D.C., area. Newton, who is from Front Royal, obtained crack cocaine from other conspirators and sold it in the area of Osage Street in Front Royal.

Mr. Brownlee and Mr. Roehm wish to acknowledge the significant efforts of the many members of the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug Task-Force and ATF Special Agent William Metcalf without whom this prosecution and these convictions would not have been possible. They also wish to acknowledge the commitment of Warren County Sheriff Lynn C. Armentrout and Front Royal Police Chief Ronald Ricucci who are so supportive of the Task-Force and its significant efforts. Lastly, Mr. Brownlee and Mr. Roehm commend the efforts of Commander Garlan Gochenour and Team Leader Allen Sibert for their unerring commitment to this investigation and prosecution.