CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Robert Dewayne Miller, 36, of Charleston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, admitting to his role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that operated in the Charleston area.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Miller participated in the conspiracy from in or about October 2022 to in or about January 2023. Miller’s role in the conspiracy involved distributing quantities of methamphetamine provided by co-defendant Alexandria Jasmine Estep, who acquired pound-level quantities of methamphetamine from co-conspirator Jasper Wemh.
Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
Estep, 22, of Charleston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on November 15, 2023, and awaits sentencing. Wemh, 39, of Charleston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on March 30, 2023, and awaits sentencing.
Miller, Estep and Wemh are among 32 individuals indicted as a result of Operation Smoke and Mirrors, a major drug trafficking investigation that has yielded the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history. Law enforcement seized well over 400 pounds of methamphetamine as well as 40 pounds of cocaine, 3 pounds of fentanyl, 19 firearms and $935,000 in cash.
Miller, Estep and Wemh are among 26 defendants who have pleaded guilty. Indictments against the other defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the West Virginia National Guard Counter Drug program, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is prosecuting the case.
The investigation was part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
Related Federal Cases
- Dennis Deire Mosley, Jr., Methamphetamine Trafficking, West Virginia 2019 · Maryland
- David Reyes Admits to Fentanyl Trafficking, West Virginia, 2023 · Puerto Rico
- Robert Thomas, Possession of a Firearm, West Virginia 2023 · Virginia
- Crystal Renee Severson, Stealing, West Virginia 2023 · Virginia
- Bradley Temple, Unlawful Money Transactions, West Virginia, 2023 · Alabama
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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