Lorain County residents indicted on federal drug charges | Lorain County

A trio of Lorain County residents were indicted in federal court April 25 along with 17 others for their part in an opioid trafficking conspiracy.

Aquin Wells, 37, and Ronelle Davis, 28, both of Sheffield Lake; and Imani Nicholson, 23, of Sheffield Village; are facing a count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.

Wells also was indicted on a firearm charge while Davis and Nicholson are facing a charge of conspiracy to launder money, the release said.

Defendant DeMarco Clayton, 24, of Sheffield Lake, is separately facing “firearms and drug charges” for allegedly having heroin , a revolver and ammunition on April 3, the release said.

Wells and Davis are accused of obtaining ounces of heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and sold them to other dealers and customers in Cleveland.

Wells and Davis also are accused of using Davis’ home to store the drugs, process the heroin and fentanyl and also to store the profits, the release said.

The conspiracy took place between September 2017 and April 2019, the release said.

The release said the indictments detail “numerous” instances when Wells would meet customers in the parking lots of fast food restaurants, supermarkets, gasoline stations and other stores for hand-to-hand drug transactions.

It also said Wells was shot three times during a suspected home invasion on the west side of Cleveland on Nov. 10, 2017, when two unidentified men stole his gold Range Rover. It was found later burned in Cleveland.

Prosecutors are seeking to seize six guns and $44,000 taken during the investigation, the release said.

“This group is accused of selling deadly drugs, illegally carrying firearms, laundering their drug profits and contributing to this scourge that has killed thousands of Ohioans,” U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said.

“This group of individuals brought deadly drugs, firearms and danger to the public,” FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Eric B. Smith said. “Law enforcement’s collaborative efforts have thwarted their criminal behavior for a safer community.”

“Today’s indictment demonstrate that IRS agents will continue to follow the money trail to disrupt the flow of ill-gotten gains that are the lifeblood of criminal enterprises,” said William Cheung, acting special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Sweeney is prosecuting the case following an investigation by the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force, which is a task force comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland Division of Police, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Customs and Border Patrol, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Ohio Adult Parole Authority and the police departments of Euclid, Lakewood, the Regional Transit Authority, Westlake and Moreland Hills.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation.