Christopher Ayash made his own cocaine to avoid the toxins in street level drugs, his lawyer wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Ayash, a well known businessman and developer, pleaded guilty in April to possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and possessing six firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime - which, in his case, was manufacturing cocaine.
Ayash's sentencing had been set for Monday but it's been pushed back until Aug. 31. He faces five years to life in prison. Federal advisory sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of about 60 months.
Ayash's lawyer filed a memorandum last week attempting to persuade U. S. District Judge John Copenhaver Jr. to sentence his client toward the lower end of what guidelines call for.
"While, without further information, one would be tempted to conclude that the presence of a drug-manufacturing endeavor involving such equipment and sophistication with such armament close by was that of a cartel style drug operation, the facts of this case clearly demonstrate otherwise," attorney Mark McMillian wrote.
Days before his arrest last October, federal agents descended on Ayash's St. Albans' home on Jonash Lane. There, they discovered a hidden room behind a fireplace in the basement.
The area was set up by Ayash to manufacture cocaine and other controlled substances, he admitted. A "cocaine handbook" and a book about clandestine labs were found. Ingredients used to make cocaine were recovered, along with a pill press and thousands of empty pill capsules, were found in the home.
Federal agents also found more than 60 firearms, including a machine gun, silencers and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
McMillian wrote that his client had never before been in trouble with the law and regularly devoted his time and money to coaching youth sports in St. Albans.
Ayash is a firearms enthusiast, his lawyer wrote as an explanation for the quantity of guns recovered by law enforcement officers.
"There is no suggestion that anyone was ever threatened with the weapons or that Mr. Ayash ever fired a shot in anger. To the contrary, law enforcement officials universally described Mr. Ayash as compliant and cooperative to a fault, including the search of his premises where the guns were seized," McMillian wrote.
Several days after searching Ayash's St. Albans home, agents searched Ayash's second home on Rich Hollow Road in Lewisburg. Another pill press, cocaine and more guns were found.
Instead of forfeiting his two homes to the federal government, Ayash agreed to turn over eight parcels of land in Jefferson to Kanawha County, according to the deal he made with prosecutors.
The guns Ayash owns will be destroyed, prosecutors previously said.
Ayash's drug problem began after he injured his back in a car wreck in 2002, his lawyer wrote. He was prescribed opioids regularly through 2013.
To replace the opioid dependency, Ayash began using other drugs, including cocaine, the filing states.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Haley Bunn has said that, for the past several years, Ayash was addicted to cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and prescription pills.
Ayash would purchase cocoa leaves in five-kilogram units and have them shipped through the mail. McMillian noted that the large amount of leaves would only produce between eight and 10 grams of cocaine.
"Mr. Ayash avows, and it is undisputed, that he chose this method over street drugs to insure the exclusion of typical contaminants found in the street drugs," McMillian wrote.
"Simply stated, in spite of the sophisticated equipment, methods, and considerable expense involved in the cocaine production, it was extremely low yield and for personal use," the memorandum states. "While manufacturing cocaine is certainly unlawful, this case is distinguishable from the ordinary cases where it is done for profit accompanied by the dangers and other characteristics therewith."
Reach Kate White at
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