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Two men indicted on heroin charges
HUNTINGTON -- Two men are charged with conspiring to distribute at least 100 grams of heroin, according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday.
The indictment charges Jose Luis Medina and Bobby Melrose with conspiring to distribute at least 100 grams of heroin between 2003 and June 13, 2008. The trafficking occurred in or near Huntington.
Melrose, 33, of Columbus, Ohio, and Medina, 23, were arrested Thursday in Columbus, said Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Gregory McVey. Medina is originally from Mexico, according to Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Tom E. Bevins.
Both men appeared in court Friday. A follow-up appearance was scheduled for next week.
Melrose, also known on the indictment as "One-Legged Bobby," was receiving treatment at Cabell Huntington Hospital. He was returned to the facility after Friday's appearance.
The indictment was filed under seal July 15. It was returned by a grand jury meeting in Beckley. The case is being investigated by the DEA, with participation from the Huntington Violent Crime Drug Task Force, the Huntington Police Department and the Cabell County Sheriff's Office.
The indictment comes as local police see an increase in heroin usage. It contributed to at least 10 people dying from 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.
One of the deaths from 2007 led to another indictment, charging Michelle Byars with distributing heroin that led to the death of her ex-husband, Patrick L. Byars.
In another unrelated investigation, deputies from the Cabell County Sheriff's Office this week arrested the mother and brother of a man who died after swallowing suspected heroin at a July 11 traffic stop. In that drug raid, officers also arrested five others.
