HUNTINGTON -- The mother and brother of a man who died after attempting to swallow suspected heroin earlier this month were arrested this week on drug charges.
Geneva W. Maynard, 51, who was arrested Wednesday on a warrant for conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, was identified by Lt. Mike Clark of the Cabell County Sheriff's Department as the mother of Christopher Lee Ratliff, 32, of Scott Depot.
Christopher Ratliff was being arrested during a traffic stop on July 12 when he swallowed what was believed to be a package of heroin, according to the Huntington Police Department. He was transported to St. Mary's Hospital, but died shortly afterward.
Christopher Ratliff was arrested while investigators with the Huntington Police Department's Drug Unit, Drug Enforcement Administration and West Virginia State Police conducted a drug investigation in the 3100 block of 5th Avenue.
Jason Scott Ratliff, 41, a brother of Chris Ratliff, was arrested Wednesday on a warrant for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, according to Clark.
Clark said the arrests on Wednesday were part of an ongoing investigation that began in March. That investigation had targeted Christopher Ratliff as a suspect, but the traffic stop was a coincidence.
During her arraignment Thursday, Maynard told the news media that "The DEA drug unit killed my son." She later tried to repeat the allegation to Magistrate Dan Goheen during the arraignment.
Maynard and Jason Ratliff were among seven people arrested Wednesday on drug charges.
Also arrested on charges of possession with intent were Randall Dennis Dial, Marsha Jean Bledsoe and Joseph F. Hodge, according to Clark. Initial reports on the arrests identified Bledsoe with the last name of "Dancy," which was listed on Western Regional Jail Facility records as an alias used by Bledsoe.
Officers also arrested a woman during the bust on a warrant for a misdemeanor charge of possession of cocaine, according to Clark.
Another woman, Kara Lea Hodge, 26, turned herself into officers Thursday. Clark said that she was in a relationship with Joseph Hodge. She was charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Her bond was set at $25,000
Police have seen an increase in heroin use in the area, which contributed to at least 10 people dying from fatal heroin overdoses in Cabell County in 2007. Only four heroin-related deaths were reported in the county between 2001 and 2006, according to the state Health Statistics Center.
Authorities have attributed the growing use of heroin to prescription addictions. Crackdowns on abuse of OxyContin and other painkillers have driven up the cost of those pills on the black market, and those addicted may have switched to the less expensive and more readily available heroin.
Dial was given a $150,000 bond. Ratliff's bond was set at $100,000. Bledsoe, Maynard and Joseph Hodge were each given $50,000 bonds. Alley's bond was set at $20,000.
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