37 indicted in Mahoning County heroin trafficking bust
A 261-count indictment has been filed against 37 suspects charged in connection with a drug trafficking organization operating in Mahoning County.
According to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, members of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force, and Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains, the indictments follow a heroin trafficking 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, acting as special assistants to the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office, presented the case to a Mahoning County grand jury last Thursday, and members of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force's Drug Unit served arrest warrants in connection with the case Tuesday.
Among the 37 suspects indicted, Terrence Rushton, 32, of Youngstown, who is believed to be the ringleader of the group, was charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in heroin, complicity to trafficking in heroin, aggravated trafficking in drugs, trafficking in cocaine, money laundering, and having weapons while under disability. Rushton was arrested on the charges this morning.
An additional 12 individuals identified as the main and mid-level operators of the organization were also charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and multiple other drug-related charges.
1. Michael Cain, 37, Youngstown
2. Raymond Wright, 36, Youngstown
3. Terrence Rushton, 32, Youngstown
4. Keith Johnson, 26, Youngstown
5. Hiawatha Johnson, 28, Youngstown
6. Ashanti Bunch, 39, Youngstown
7. Rodney Carter, 33, Youngstown
8. Corbin Detwiler, 33, Rogers
9. Diego Gonzalez, 26, Youngstown
10. JuJuan McKeithen, 40, Youngstown
11. Jeff Wess, 51, Youngstown
12. Kelvin Crenshaw, 28, Youngstown
13. Charles Frohman, 31, Girard
14. Trevon Howell, 25, Youngstown
15. Marquis Huffman, 22, Youngstown
16. Samuel Richard, 26, Youngstown
17. Brandon Williams, 24, Youngstown
18. Shenika Rushton, 33, Youngstown
19. Kia Brown, 28, Youngstown
20. Albert Santiago, 30, Columbiana
21. Randy Cox, 34, Austintown
22. Jason Currie, 31, Austintown
23. Kim Davis, 28, Lisbon
24. Nick Davis, 27, Youngstown
25. Natalie Habib, 22, North Jackson
26. Katie Grist, 29, Youngstown
27. Lucas Hanshaw, 32, Youngstown
28. Darla Harrison, 49, Youngstown
29. Stephanie Morehead, 26, Lake Milton
30. Dominic Pelligrini, 22, Mineral Ridge
31. Mark Piroch, 26, Youngstown
32. Alana Reese, 21, Canfield
33. Michael Shugart, 28, Youngstown
34. Heidi Smith, 31, Mineral Ridge
35. Matthew Treharn, 30, Youngstown
36. James Vespasian, 33, Struthers
37. Joe Zimmerman, 24, Youngstown
A list of additional defendants indicted in connection with the case, as well as a copy of the indictment, can be found on the Attorney General's website.