Roanoke Man Arrested on Federal Heroin and Fentanyl Distribution Charges

Roanoke, Va. – A Roanoke City man, who federal authorities allege distributed heroin and fentanyl, and possessed a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities, was arrested yesterday on a federal criminal complaint. United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen made the announcement today following the unsealing of the criminal complaint.

The investigation is being handled by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, the Roanoke Area High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force [HIDTA], the Roanoke County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, the Roanoke County Police Department, the Roanoke City Police Department, the Salem Police Department, the Virginia State Police, and the United States Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General.

The criminal complaint charges William Preston Ramey-Woodard, 39, with one count of distribution of a mixture containing heroin and fentanyl and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, the alleged criminal activities took place in the Western District of Virginia in March, April, and May 2020.

The investigation of this case is ongoing.  Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Bassford is prosecuting the case for the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, various stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A criminal complaint is only a charge and not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.