Operation Smoke and Mirrors Update: Charleston Man Sentenced to Prison for Role in Methamphetamine Trafficking Organization

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Robert Dewayne Miller, 36, of Charleston, was sentenced today to six years and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, admitting to his role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that operated in the Charleston area.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Miller participated in the conspiracy from in or about October 2022 to in or about January 2023. Miller is responsible for over 2 and a half pounds of methamphetamine due to this involvement in the conspiracy. Miller distributed quantities of methamphetamine supplied by co-defendant Alexandria Jasmine Estep, who acquired pound-level quantities of methamphetamine from co-conspirator Jasper Wemh. Estep would check with Miller to see if the methamphetamine had been sold and Estep would collect the proceeds of such sales from Miller. Occasionally, Estep would receive methamphetamine back from Miller for the purpose of selling it.

Miller, Estep and Wemh among 32 individuals indicted as a result of Operation Smoke and Mirrors, a major drug trafficking investigation that has yielded the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history. Law enforcement seized well over 400 pounds of methamphetamine as well as 40 pounds of cocaine, 3 pounds of fentanyl, 19 firearms and $935,000 in cash.

Estep, 22, of Charleston, was sentenced on February 22, 2024, to four years and two months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Wemh, 39, of Charleston, pleaded guilty on March 30, 2023, to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and awaits sentencing. Miller, Estep and Wemh are among 27 defendants who have pleaded guilty. Indictments against the other defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the West Virginia National Guard Counter Drug program, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office. MDENT is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department.

Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe prosecuted the case.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-33.

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