CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The recent sentencing of a Charleston man is marking a significant milestone in a four-indictment drug trafficking organization case yielding the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history.
Jasper Wemh, 39, will spend 16 years and eight months in prison now for being one of the four leading defendants to come forward involved in the ongoing Operation Smoke and Mirrors drug trafficking investigation.
Wemh is among 27 of 32 total defendants involved in the drug trafficking organization (DTO) who have pleaded guilty, and among the 20 who have been sentenced to prison.
The host of law enforcement agencies working together as part of Operation Smoke and Mirrors seized over 400 pounds of meth, as well as 40 pounds of cocaine, 3 pounds of fentanyl, 19 firearms, and approximately $935,000 in cash.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, Will Thompson said the operation stretched across Putnam, Kanawha, and Raleigh counties, and even some into Mercer County, and came from about four main suppliers.
He put the magnitude of how large the operation was into context Monday on MetroNews Talkline.
“I know that my office, before I got here, did a press release of what they called the biggest drug bust ever in the state, and it was less than a pound of fentanyl, so if that gives you any type of idea of how large this was,” Thompson said.
He met with law enforcement officials involved in the case, including those from the FBI, the DEA, and the Department of Homeland Security at the Federal Courthouse in Charleston on Monday for a press conference regarding the operation.
According to court documents, Wemh is responsible for over 85 pounds of that meth that was distributed by the DTO in 2022.
Documents revealed that he routinely made transactions with multiple pounds at a time, selling over 20 pounds of meth in a single night on December 4, 2022.
Wemh reportedly made payments totaling $250,000 to his out-of-state supplier to repay his methamphetamine debts, and often provided the illicit drug to his customers on consignment knowing that what he sold was getting redistributed.
Thompson said the drug bust definitely puts a damper on future drug distributions in the state, but it doesn’t end it completely as there’s plenty more investigative work to be done.
“I’ve been doing this for too long to think this is going to stop it, it doesn’t,” he said. “In fact, we have several more cases right now where people have tried to fill in that I can’t really comment on yet, because there’s still an investigative stage and stuff like that, but we’re definitely getting pretty close to the source.”
Wemh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of meth. He was sentenced on May 2.
Wemh has a long criminal history that includes prior drug distribution convictions.
Along with the FBI, DEA, and Homeland Security, other agencies involved with the investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 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, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office, among several others.
Thompson said the significant drug bust is a reflection of the good work that can be done to put a halt on drug trafficking when agencies come together.
“It represents the good work, the very good work that our federal, state, and local partners are doing, I think they are getting together better than they’ve ever gotten along in the past, working together better than they’ve ever worked in the past, and this is what happens when they do that,” said Thompson.
The following is a list of the other defendants sentenced to prison in the case:
. 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, 41, 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.
. Telisa Rene McCauley, 32, of Charleston, was sentenced to nine years in prison on November 9, 2023, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
. Les Van Bumpus, 35, of Charleston, was sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison on January 22, 2024, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
Indictments against five defendants are pending.
The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).