Member of Drug Conspiracy that Trafficked Heroin and Methamphetamine into Shenandoah County Sentenced in Federal Court

HARRISONBURG, Va. –Katie Harlow, who conspired with dozens of others to traffic heroin and methamphetamine into Shenandoah County, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg to 60 months incarceration. United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen and Special Agent in Charge Ashan M. Benedict of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives [ATF] made the announcement.

“The United States Attorney’s Office will continue to hold individuals accountable who prey on the addictions of others, by trafficking heroin and methamphetamine into our communities,” First Assistant United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar said today. “We could not prosecute these important cases without the close relationships between our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, for whom we are truly grateful.”

“ATF is a proud partner in the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force, whose exceptional work against this trafficking organization has led to multiple indictments of these criminal offenders,” said ATF Washington Special Agent in Charge Ashan M. Benedict. “More importantly, these efforts have helped stem the flow of illegal narcotics and other criminal activity into Shenandoah County and all of western Virginia.”

Harlow, 38, pleaded guilty in April 2019 to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of distributing methamphetamine.

According to court documents, Harlow admitted to being part of a conspiracy that distributed large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine into the Shenandoah County area from 2016 through late 2018. In all, 18 defendants were indicted in 2018 and charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine.

To date, the following have been sentenced:

    Anthony Benjamin Testerman- 125 months

    William Ray Shoemaker- 72 months

    Jeffrey Craig Mays- 47 months

    Javon Eugene Cook- 110 months

    Brooke McIntosh- 67 months

    Jonathan Lewis Hodges- 130 months

    Kenneth J. Webb- time served

    Amanda Jean Mullins- 48 months

    Michael Mullins- 101 months

    Dietrich Day II- 48 months

    Christian Michael Burhop – 120 months

    Christopher Thomas Trimble- 120 months

    Brandon Wayne Eppard- to be sentenced August 3, 2020

    Tiffany Bowman Lopez- 5 months

    Erika Lam- time served

    Justin Tyler Mumaw- 65 months

    Dana Marie Silvious- 18 months

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office, the RUSH Drug Task Force, the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force, the Mount Jackson Police Department, the Woodstock Police Department, the Front Royal Police Department, the Timberville Police Department, and the Shenandoah County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Grayson A. Hoffman and Jeb Terrien prosecuted the case for the United States.