After agreeing to cooperate in the prosecution of one of five co-conspirators, a man accused of manufacturing methamphetamine in a Williamsburg hotel had two felony charges dropped against him Friday.
The manufacturing methamphetamine charges were dropped against 40-year-old Jonathan Rob Sladek on the condition he plead guilty to one felony count of possession of a controlled substance.
Williamsburg-James City County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Gaten said Sladek cooperated with prosecutors in the case of Michael Anthony Barnette, who pleaded guilty Oct. 2 to manufacturing methamphetamine.
Sladek, a Winchester resident, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $2,500 fine for the charge and will be sentenced at 1 p.m. Jan. 12.
Charges were dropped against 23-year-old Nathan Lewis Dudash — another man allegedly involved in manufacturing methamphetamine with the four others — earlier this month, in part because of Dudash’s cooperation in the prosecution of Barnette.
Sladek was arrested with Dudash and Barnette in November 2013 after Williamsburg investigators and Virginia State troopers executed search warrants on several rooms in the America’s Inn on Richmond Road and on a few vehicles in the parking lot. Gaten said investigators found several needles and spoons containing methamphetamine residue in Sladek’s vehicle, along with smoking devices and cold medication typically used to make the drug.
Sladek admitted to both using the items found in his car and buying the cold medication to cook meth, Gaten said.
A fourth man, 27-year-old Nelson Haziel Lugo Gonzales, was arrested a few days after the initial hotel investigation. Manufacturing methamphetamine charges against him were later dropped.
A fifth person believed to have been connected to the case was extradited to Williamsburg in March. Ohio resident Stacia Lynn Williams, who is charged with one felony count of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, has a trial set for 1 p.m. Dec. 5 in Williamsburg-James City Circuit Court.
Related Coverage:
- Minimal Evidence, Suspect’s Cooperation Leads to Dropped Charge in Meth Ring Case
- Member of Alleged Meth Ring Pleads Guilty to Manufacturing Drug in Williamsburg Hotel
- Alleged Fifth Member of Meth Ring Extradited to Williamsburg
- Alleged Meth Cook, ‘Smurf’ to Be Tried in Circuit Court
- Police Nab Fourth Man in Williamsburg Meth Ring
- Three Men Arrested at Williamsburg Hotel on Meth-Related Charges
