Leesburg Man Arrested for Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone Resulting in Death

ALEXANDRIA, VA—George Washington Crane, V, 48, of Leesburg, Virginia, was arrested today for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone resulting in the 2010 death of a young Loudoun County man.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Michael L. Chapman, Sheriff of Loudon County, made the announcement after Crane’s initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge T. Rawles Jones, Jr.

Crane faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, if convicted.

According to court documents and proceedings held today, Crane allegedly purchased oxycodone from sources in Washington, D.C., from 2006 through 2012. According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Crane primarily distributed that oxycodone to individuals in Western Loudoun County, Virginia.

On August 8, 2010, a 19-year-old Loudoun County man died from an Oxycodone overdose at his home. This young man had left a drug rehabilitation facility just one day earlier. The criminal complaint alleges that Crane sold the oxycodone, through an intermediary, that ultimately resulted in the victim’s death from overdose.

The investigation is being conducted by FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Loudoun County Sherriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Adam B. Schwartz is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Criminal complaints are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.