Zanesville Property Named In Federal Drug Indictment

There is a Zanesville connection to a federal investigation into a massive drug ring in West Virginia. A federal indictment unsealed Tuesday in United States District Court in Huntington, West Virginia charged multiple people in a nearly eight-year $10 million marijuana conspiracy.

The Zanesville connection was inside a forfeiture notice which was included in the indictment. It says the real estate of Russell Nelson Jr. at 4286 Barkers Run Road will be seized by authorities if he’s convicted.

In all seven people are charged with conspiracy to distribute more than 1000 kilograms of marijuana between Summer of 2002 and May of 2010. And an eighth person is charged with helping transport the drug to Nitro, West Virginia. Those named in the indictment are Christopher Clark, Jeffery Perry, Jay Van Meenen, Russell Nelson, Mark Chappalear, Rosa Imedla Ledezma, Barry Adkins and Richard Fleming. Court documents say Clark and Perry were arrested Monday in Southern Ohio and Chappalear was arrested Tuesday.

The U.S. government is also requesting the forfeiture of around $10 million in gross proceeds, two vehicles and a trailer with Illinois license plates if the group is convicted.