Federal authorities have indicted 15 people in a sprawling Lorain County fentanyl ring

LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) – Federal authorities have announced the indictment of 15 people in connection with a Lorain County fentanyl trafficking ring.

A months-long investigation found that more than a dozen people were involved in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

According to the press release, the following are suspected during the investigation:

Ronald Whittaker, 31, Cleveland, Ohio
Tyvez McCallum, 30, Elyria, Ohio
Ivan Barrios, 45, Lorain, Ohio
Tavon Martin, 28, Lorain, Ohio
Javon Wint, 27, Lorain, Ohio
Kathleen Caudill, 22, Lorain, Ohio
Nicholas Thomson, 47, Elyria, Ohio
Max Kennedy, 19, Wellington, Ohio
Jordan Johnson, 29, Elyria, Ohio
Angela Shuck, 35, Lorain, Ohio
Stacey Thomson, 48, Elyria, Ohio
Tyrone Phillips, 25, Elyria, Ohio
Joseph Kushner, 32, Berea, Ohio
Nicholas Burkholder, 29, Elyria, Ohio
Aubrey Brown, 29, Elyria, Ohio

The two men accused of leading the conspiracy are McCallum and Whittaker, the report said.

Here’s how authorities say it all worked: Whittaker would receive shipments of pills to McCallum. McCallum redistributed the fentanyl pills to others. These people then went on to distribute the fentanyl pills in the Elyria and Lorain areas.

According to the report, the pack was active from May 2023 to October 2024.

During that time, officials said, the defendants distributed at least an estimated 4,406.25 grams of fentanyl and/or 42,793 blue fentanyl pills.

During the arrests, federal authorities said agents found thousands of fentanyl pills that look like legal prescription drugs, as well as guns and cash.