20 Indicted in Drug Ring That Brought Heroin, Marijuana to Mahoning Valley

YOUNGSTOWN, OH - Twenty suspects have been charged in connection with a drug trafficking organization that operated in the Mahoning Valley, says Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains and members of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force.

The suspects are accused of bringing heroin and marijuana into the state of Ohio and specifically Mahoning Valley. Police have arrested 15 of the accused. Five remain at-large.

According to the investigation, members of the trafficking ring were responsible for flooding the streets of the Mahoning Valley with heroin and marijuana between April 2015 and August 2016. The drugs came into Ohio from other states, including Michigan, California, and Arizona.

In some cases, large deliveries of drugs were shipped in the mail from out-of-state suppliers to the homes of several members of the group. The drugs were then divided by the high-level traffickers and sold to lower-level traffickers who would, in turn, push the drugs on the street.

"This investigation found that several of the main players in this group were making thousands of dollars off of every pound of marijuana they sold, and in some cases, that money would then go to pay for heroin. It's a vicious cycle," said Attorney General DeWine. "State and local authorities are committed to taking down the big players in these trafficking organizations, which is exactly what we did here today."

Of those charged, six of the suspects, identified by investigators as the high-level traffickers who operated the group, are accused of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity relating to the sale of heroin and/or marijuana. Two California men who are accused of attempting to traffic heroin into the Youngstown area are also among those charged.

The suspects listed below are charged in the indictment, which can be found on the Ohio Attorney General's website. The defendants listed in bold were in custody as of 3:00 p.m.today.

• Edward Blackmon, 38, Youngstown
• Randy Beausoliel, 38, Studio City, California
• Jonathan Centeno, 31, Campbell
• Yeashelley Centeno, 32, Youngstown
• Coleman Cooper, 34, Youngstown
• Kory Jackson, 29, Youngstown
• James Jones, 31, Campbell
• Telia Lawson, 38, Youngstown
• Abraham Garcia Magana, 44, Homeland, California
• Terrell Martin, 36, Youngstown
• Wayne Martin, 35, Youngstown
• Edward McElroy, 31, Youngstown
• Sumya McElroy, 32, Youngstown
• Aaron McGuire, 30, Youngstown
• James Moody, 32, Youngstown
• EC Robinson, 31, Youngstown
• Kenneth Sharpe, 38, Youngstown
• Chris Simmons, 40, Youngstown
• Jose Suarez, 36, Youngstown
• Martwan Treharn, 24, Youngstown

Charges listed in the indictment include engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in heroin, attempted trafficking in heroin, trafficking in marijuana, attempted trafficking in marijuana, complicity to trafficking in marijuana, aggravated trafficking in drugs, permitting drug abuse, having weapons under disability, possession of marijuana, and possession of drugs.

The 74-count indictment follows an investigation led by the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force’s Drug Unit with assistance from Attorney General DeWine's Heroin Unit.

Prosecutors with Attorney General DeWine's Special Prosecutions Section and Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office presented the case to a Mahoning County grand jury last week, and members of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force's Drug Unit served arrest warrants in connection with the case today.

Authorities with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program, U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service also assisted in the investigation.

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