Chad Custer, Marijuana Distribution Conspiracy, Virginia 2023

Two Roanoke men, Chad Custer and Darion Harvey, have been charged in a federal criminal complaint with drug and gun charges in connection to a marijuana distribution conspiracy out of a rented home on Eastern Avenue in the City of Roanoke.

As part of the Western District of Virginia’s ongoing Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative to reduce drug and violent crime, Custer and Harvey are the latest in a series of arrests tied to the alleged drug operation at the Eastern Avenue home.

Aaron Woods was arrested earlier this week and charged with federal drug and firearms-related crimes. “These and other recent arrests reflect the commitment of federal law enforcement and the Roanoke Police Department to respond, in an aggressive manner, to rising levels of violence and organized drug activity in the city,” U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen stated.

According to the criminal complaints, Woods, Custer, Harvey, and others had been working together since at least 2017 to distribute large amounts of marijuana from an Eastern Avenue home Woods rented.

Nolan Kyle Harman, also of Roanoke, was charged federally in February of this year for making straw purchases of firearms for Custer, at Custer’s request.

The complaints allege the distribution activity at Woods’ Eastern Avenue residence culminated in a shooting death on July 10, 2018. Two-way gunfire ensued, resulting in the death of an individual who was shot in the head and neck as he/she apparently attempted to flee the scene.

The investigation was conducted by the Roanoke City Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Roanoke County Police Department, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia State Police, and members of the region’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force.

Assistant United States Attorney Kari Munro will prosecute these cases for the United States.

A criminal complaint is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. These defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdva/pr/two-more-arrested-connection-eastern-avenue-marijuana-distribution-conspiracy-shootings