Federal indictments unsealed naming four from Mercer County on drug-related charges

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May 20, 2009

By BILL ARCHER The Bluefield Daily Telegraph Wed May 20, 2009, 09:09 PM EDT

BLUEFIELD — Four Mercer County residents are scheduled to appear in separate arraignment/detention hearings this morning at U.S. District Court in Beckley in response to charges contained in four separate indictments all returned on May 12, by a federal grand jury meeting in Beckley, but sealed until earlier this week.

Tevas Jermaine Hill, 31, of Princeton, was named in six counts of a federal indictment returned May 12, all charging him with knowingly and intentionally distributing cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine, between Feb. 6-15, at or near Princeton. Hill is scheduled to appear before Federal Magistrate R. Clarke VanDervort at 10 a.m. The court appointed R. Thomas Czarnik to represent Hill.

Amy French, 23, also of Princeton, was named in a one-count federal indictment returned on May 12, charging her with possessing a firearm on Feb. 15 at or near Princeton, in and affecting interstate commerce, and while possessing a firearm, “was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance.” French is scheduled to appear before VanDervort for her arraignment/detention hearing at 10:30 a.m. The court appointed Derrick W. Lefler to represent French.

Jerome Brown, 36, of Bluefield is named in a three-count federal indictment returned May 12, charging him with distribution of cocaine on March 5-6 at or near Bluefield. Brown faces two counts of distribution and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Brown is scheduled to appear in his arraignment/detention hearing before VanDervort at 11 a.m. The court appointed Sante Boninsegna Jr., to represent Brown.

James Kelson III, 36, of Bluewell, was named in a five-count federal indictment returned May 12, charging him with knowingly and intentionally distributing cocaine (3 counts) and possession with intent to distribute cocaine (2 counts) from Feb. 24-March 6, at or near Bluefield. Kelson is scheduled to appear for his arraignment/detention hearing at 11:30 a.m., before VanDervort. The court appointed E. Ward Morgan to serve as Kelson’s counsel.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John L. File presented the Hill and French cases to the grand jury and Miller A. Bushong III presented the Brown and Kelson cases to the grand jury. The Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force investigated the cases.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com