POLICE SAY DRUG BUSTS WILL SEND MESSAGE

CLARKSBURG -- A 16-month investigation into alleged drug dealing in
the area resulted in a slew of arrests Wednesday in Clarksburg on
federal charges.

And more could be on the way, said U.S. Attorney Thomas E.
Johnston.

The arrests -- mostly involving crack co-caine -- ought to send a
message to drug dealers and users already in the region, or those
already thinking about coming here, Johnston said.

"Your drugs are not welcome here, not in Clarksburg, not in Harrison
County, not in North Central West Virginia," Johnston said.

Clarksburg Police Chief John Walker said the arrests will "put a dent
in the crack" in his city.

"It'd be naive to say this is going to stop everything. But it's going
to slow things down for a while," Walker said.

The drug task force officers who led the investigation have had to put
in time-consuming work to build cases that police believe will hold up
in court, both Walker and Harrison County Sheriff Jim Jack indicated.

While the drug task force officers remain anonymous, their reward came
with the satisfaction of seeing the suspects arrested, Jack said.

Wednesday's arrests also might spawn further drug investigations, Jack
added.

That could help police further fight the drug problem in the area,
which Jack says also involves heroin use.

Law officers from several different agencies began serving the arrest
warrants before dawn Wednesday. Johnston said no injuries or major
incidents were reported. No details of what drugs or contraband might
have been seized were available during Wednesday's press conference
announcing the arrests.

Suspects were taken to the U.S. Marshal's Service holding facility in
the federal courthouse, Johnston said. Veteran drug prosecutor John C.
Parr, an assistant U.S. Attorney, left the press conference to
immediately head to the federal facility, where the accused were
scheduled for initial appearances in U.S. Magistrate Court.

Police were still seeking a handful of suspects, Johnston said,
although a dozen had been arrested by midday Wednesday.

Sixteen of those charged were named in indictments handed down by a
federal grand jury in Clarksburg earlier this month. A criminal
complaint was lodged against one other person during the arrests,
Johnston said. That man was charged with illegal possession of a
firearm and ammunition, Johnston said.

The charges involve allegations dating as far back as March 2002, and
as recently as this month, according to press releases issued by
Johnston's office. Many of the distribution counts allegedly occurred
within 1,000 feet of the Monticello Avenue Playground in Clarksburg,
Johnston said. If authorities can prove that in court, it could double
the statutory federal penalties, Johnston said.