Man Enters Guilty Plea In Meth Case

HARRISONBURG — A man accused of selling methamphetamine in Shenandoah and Page counties pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg.

 

Jose Payan, 31, pleaded guilty to felony conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and felony re-entering the country illegally after being deported. Payan was living in Stanley at the time of his arrest.

 

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski scheduled Payan, who faces up to life in prison, to be sentenced June 5.

 

The investigation began in spring 2011 while Payan was living near Woodstock, according to court records.

 

Prosecutors say an informant told an investigator with the Northwest Virginia Regional Task Force in March 2011 there was a man, later identified as Payan, selling meth out of his home.

 

A second informant told the investigator that a man named Jose was selling “large quantities” of the drug out of his home on Lupton Road in Shenandoah County. The defendant later moved to Page County and continued his operation, according to prosecutors.

 

In September 2011, a third informant said Payan was selling drugs.

 

In all, prosecutors say, an informant bought 12 ounces of meth from Payan at $1,600 an ounce.

 

On March 25, the drug task force raided Payan’s Page County home, seizing meth and drug paraphernalia. Payan was arrested in June after federal prosecutors filed a complaint against him.

 

In January, his wife and co-defendant, Sheila Payan, age unavailable, of Stanley, pleaded guilty to felony conspiring to distribute 50 to 499 grams or more of methamphetamine. She originally was charged with conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more.

 

Prosecutors say Sheila Payan conspired with her husband to distribute the drug.

 

She also faces up to life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced May 29.

 

Contact Pete DeLea at 574-6278 or pdelea@dnronline.com