Sixteen Charged in Narcotics, Firearms Conspiracies
CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged 16 individuals in narcotics and firearms conspiracies.
The alleged narcotics conspiracy involves 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and cocaine and 10 grams or more of LSD, as well as detectable amounts of MDMA, DMT, marijuana and ketamine. Defendants are also alleged to have conspired to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The grand jury originally charged the two individuals allegedly involved in an Aug. 7, 2020 chase through Cincinnati that resulted in the deaths of two bystanders in Newport, Kentucky. The original indictment was returned Aug. 26, 2020. Mason Meyer, 29, and Kirsten Johnson, 23, both of Cincinnati, were charged federally with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Meyer is also charged with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. In Campbell County, Kentucky, Meyer is charged with two counts of murder, endangerment, and fleeing and evading.
Ongoing investigation led to the additional defendants and charges. The second superseding indictment charges 14 additional defendants. As charged in the latest indictment, the narcotics conspiracy is punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison.
According to court documents, officials with the ATF, Cincinnati Police and the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force were surveilling Meyer in Cincinnati on Aug. 7, 2020 when Meyer drove away.
Cincinnati Police officers attempted to stop Meyer when he fled, causing a police chase through Cincinnati and into Covington and Newport, Kentucky.
Local court documents detail that Meyer’s vehicle struck and killed a couple dining on the patio of Press on Monmouth in Newport, Kentucky. Two other pedestrians were struck and suffered minor injuries.
At the time of the chase, court documents allege Meyer and Johnson possessed 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, two loaded handguns and a loaded rifle.
Those currently charged in the case include:
|
Name |
Age |
City of Residence |
|
Mason Meyer |
29 |
Cincinnati |
|
Kirsten Johnson |
29 |
Cincinnati |
|
Ryan Haskamp |
33 |
Cincinnati |
|
William Keith Jenkins |
34 |
Cincinnati |
|
Michael Alden Mobley |
39 |
Ghent, Ky. |
|
Michael Tyler Boeh |
32 |
Cincinnati |
|
Victoria Stauffer |
27 |
Cincinnati |
|
Quincy Pemberton |
30 |
Cincinnati |
|
Damon Gene Wade |
28 |
California, Ky. |
|
Kelly Marie Smart |
32 |
Cincinnati |
|
Kevin Patrick Thiery |
41 |
Cincinnati |
|
Crystal Randall |
33 |
Cincinnati |
|
Rory Hartmann |
27 |
Cincinnati |
|
Julie Renae Wetzel |
31 |
Cincinnati |
|
Ashley Long |
27 |
Cincinnati |
|
Haley Pennington |
23 |
Moraine, Ohio |
Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Keith Martin, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac and agencies with the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force and Drug Abuse Reduction Task Force (DART) announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy D. Oakley, Jennifer K. Weinhold and Ashley N. Brucato are representing the United States in this case.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
