8 indicted in meth, cocaine supply chain

Eight people have been indicted in federal court after what is believed to be the largest methamphetamine bust in Northeast Ohio history.

The eight defendants are accused of conspiring to create a methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking supply chain from Mexico to Northeast Ohio.

Named in the 13-count indictment are: Jesus Cota Medina, 26, of Mexico; Deon Johnson, 48, of Cleveland; Michelle Dailey, 44, of Cleveland; Shauheen Sohrabi, 32, of Akron; Joseph Terlizzi, 28, of Bedford; Tyrone Rogers, 36, of Maple Heights; Hector Manuel Ramos-Nevarez, 26, of Mexico, and Gilbert Treviso-Garcia, 24, of Mexico.

All eight are charged with conspiracy to manufacture and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. Terlizzi is additionally charged with possessing a firearm in relation to drug trafficking and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Ramos-Nevarez and Treviso-Garcia are charged with interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

“Member of this group traveled from Ohio to Mexico to set up a drug supply chain and then actively plotted a murder when they believed someone robbed from them,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said.

“This case demonstrates that the threat posed by Mexican criminal organizations to our region is very real,”

Authorities said Johnson, while incarcerated, organized and orchestrated a plan to distribute methamphetamine in Ohio. Coconspirators Dailey and Rogers traveled from Ohio to Mexico for the purpose of creating a drug trafficking chain of supply, organized by Johnson and Cota-Medina.

Johnson, Rogers, Terlizzi and others arranged, through Sohrabi, to use a warehouse located on Old Eight Road in Boston Heights to the purpose of making crystal methamphetamine and preparing it for sale, according to the indictment.

The conspirators intended to sell enough methamphetamine to eventually begin to buy and ship large amounts of cocaine into Ohio, according to the indictment.

Dailey and Rogers traveled from Cleveland to Tucson in January 2018, then crossed into Mexico. They met with Cota-Medina on Jan. 12, and Johnson and Cota-Medina talked by phone about drug shipments to Ohio, the indictment stated.

Rogers began sending money to Cota-Medina. Ramos-Nevarez and Treviso-Garcia entered the United States on visitors’ visas in March 2018. Rogers met them in Ohio on March 21 while in regular contact with Cota-Medina and Johnson, according to the indictment.

Terlizzi talked to Rogers on March 22 about ordering a quantity of drugs. They agreed to meet and Rogers went to Terlizzi’s house on West 23rd Street in Cleveland.

On March 23, Rogers picked up Ramos-Nevarez and Treviso-Garcia from the Boston Heights warehouse and drove them to where they were staying in Aurora. The next day, law enforcement did a delayed-notice search at the warehouse and a large amount of methamphetamine as well as tools and paraphernalia used to cook the drug, according to the indictment.

Approximately eight hours later, Sohrabi called Rogers and informed him that it appeared someone broke into the warehouse. Rogers stated: “Somebody gotta die. I don’t give a (expletive) who gotta die. Somebody gotta die,” according to the indictment.

In subsequent calls, Cota-Medina, Rogers and Johnson discussed how they believed Sohrabi stole the drugs. Johnson told Rogers: “The call is made, he’s (Sohrabi) through,” according to the indictment.

Law enforcement eventually seized more than 140 pounds of methamphetamine from the warehouse.

Terlizzi was arrested on March 26 and found to have cocaine, heroin and two firearms that he used in relation to drug trafficking. Terlizzi was prohibited from having the Ruger .380mm pistol and Smith & Wesson revolver because of a prior conviction for drug trafficking, according to the indictment.

The case was an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation led by the Cleveland DEA Task Force, which includes representatives from the Lake County Narcotics Agency, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Euclid Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Boston Heights Police Department, Cleveland Heights Police Department, Cleveland Division of Police, Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio BCI and U.S. Border Patrol.

In 2017, Lake County Crime Lab officials said they began seeing an uptick in the number of methamphetamine cases. Sgt. Brad Kemp of the Lake County Narcotics Agency told The News-Herald that while meth was becoming more prevalent, they were seeing fewer labs. That’s because of meth called “Ice” being imported from Mexico. It was being sold in Lake and Ashtabula counties as well as Cleveland among other places, he said.