Operation Smoke and Mirrors Update: Final Major Defendant Pleads Guilty to Role in Methamphetamine Trafficking Organization

Press Release

Defendant Is Among 31 Convicted of Federal Crimes in Case that Resulted in Largest Methamphetamine Seizure in West Virginia History

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - U.S. Attorney Will Thompson joined with law enforcement partners today to announce the guilty plea by the final major defendant in a four-indictment drug trafficking organization (DTO) case that yielded the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history.

Tres Avery Davis, 36, of Charleston, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl. Davis is among 31 defendants convicted in the case. Dubbed Operation Smoke and Mirrors, this major drug trafficking investigation resulted in law enforcement seizing well over 400 pounds of methamphetamine, 40 pounds of cocaine, 3 pounds of fentanyl, 19 firearms and $935,000 in cash.

The DTO used tractor-trailers to transport the drugs, often several hundred pounds for each trip, from the West Coast to the Southern District of West Virginia. The drugs were usually exchanged for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, which was delivered back to California.

"Investigators followed the trail of methamphetamine being sold here in Charleston and traced it all the way back to Los Angeles, California, and our southern border," Thompson said. "The investigation revealed this organization was bringing methamphetamine across our southern border on pallets containing hundreds of pounds at a time."

The shipments trucked to West Virginia included approximately 196 pounds of methamphetamine and 4 kilograms of cocaine driven from California to Bluefield in March 2023 by Ildiberto Gonzalez Jr. In exchange for that shipment, Gonzalez received a box that he believed contained approximately $400,000 as payment. Gonzalez was driving away from the transaction when law enforcement pulled him over and seized his 2009 Freightliner semi-truck with attached trailer.

Gonzalez, 30, of San Bernadino, California, was sentenced on July 22, 2024, to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine. Gonzalez admitted that he made the March 2023 delivery at the direction of co-conspirator Alejandro Gallegos, and previously delivered boxes containing controlled substances for Gallegos in or about January 2023. Gallegos, also known as "Alex," "Rooster," "G" and "Primo," 42, of Hacienda Heights, California, pleaded guilty on June 20, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine. Gallegos awaits sentencing.

"For the purpose of sentencing, Mr. Gallegos is personally responsible for more damage done to our communities by methamphetamine than any other single defendant who has ever appeared in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia," Thompson said.

Gallegos also sent large amounts of controlled substances to South Carolina, Georgia and other areas. The DTO was directly involved in price fixing in the methamphetamine trade by raising the price of methamphetamine coming into the United States from Mexico based on fluctuations in the currency conversion rate.

"Operation Smoke and Mirrors marked the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history, however the FBI's work, and that of our local, state, and federal partners, is far from finished," said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek. "Today's sentencing sends a message. To those who think southern West Virginia can be a place to traffic dangerous drugs, know that we are using every tool at our disposal to rid our communities of these substances. Our neighborhoods, businesses, schools, and streets deserve to be free of this poison, and the men and women of the FBI remain fiercely committed to that mission."

With today's guilty plea, Davis admitted that he delivered approximately 2,000 blue pills containing fentanyl to a Kemp Avenue residence in Charleston on March 7, 2023. Law enforcement seized the pills at the residence on March 9, 2023. Davis admitted that he intended to distribute at least some of these pills to other people. Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least eight years of supervised release, and an $8 million fine.

Among the other defendants sentenced to prison in the case:

• Jasper Wemh, 39, of Charleston, was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison on May 2, 2024, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
• Michael Allen Roberts Jr., 41, of St. Albans, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on March 6, 2024, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine.
• Justin Allen Bowen, 42, of Charleston, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison on August 31, 2023, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
• Perry Johnson Jr., 30, of Dunwoody, Georgia, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison on April 11, 2024, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
• Todd Tyler Snead, 58, of Waynesboro, Virginia, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on September 6, 2023, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
• Ryan Keith Kincaid, 47, of South Charleston, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on December 8, 2023, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

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. MDENT is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department.

United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over today's hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is prosecuting the case.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice's 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.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-4 (Wemh et al.), 2:23-cr-31 (Jeffries et al.), 2:23-cr-33 (Estep et al.) and 2:23-cr-32 (Gonzalez et al.).

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Updated September 24, 2024