Case 7:20-mj-00049-RSB Document 1 Filed 05/15/20 Page 1 of 1 Pageid#: 1

AO 91 (Rev. II/II) Criminal Complaint

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

for the

Western District ofYirginia

United States of America )

v. )
Tyshea Anthony Cunningham
) Case No. 7:20-mj-49
)
)
)
)
DeJendant(s)

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
I, the complainant in this case, state that the following is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

On or about the date(s) of March 2020 in the county of Roanoke in the

Western District of Virginia , the defendant(s) violated:

Code Section Offense Description

21 U.S.C. § 841 To manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to
manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a measurable quantity of a mixture or
substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule
II controlled substance;

This criminal complaint is based on these facts:

See attached affidavit of Charles G. Jarboe, Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation

o Continued on the attached sheet.

Charles G. Jarboe, Special Agent FBI

Printed name and title

Sworn to before me and signed in my presence.

Date: May 15, 2020 Robert S. Ballou

Judge 's signature
Sworn and attested to telephonically.
City and state: Roanoke, Virginia U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert S. Ballou
Printed name and title
Case 7:20-mj-00049-RSB Document 1-1 Filed 05/15/20 Page 1 of 5 Pageid#: 2

IN THE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
ROANOKE DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

7:20-mj-49
Case No. ------------------
v.

TYSHEA ANTHONY CUNNINGHAM

AFFIDA VIT IN SUPPORT OF COMPLAINT

1, Charles G. Jarboe, being first duly sworn, hereby depose and state the following:

INTRODUCTION AND AGENT BACKGROUND

1. I make this affidavit in support of a complaint and arrest warrant under Rules

3, 4, and 4.1 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

2. I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") and

have been so employed since May, 2019. I received initial training and instruction to become

a Special Agent at the FBI Academy located in Quantico, Virginia, which included training

concerning violations of the United States criminal statutes. I am currently assigned to the

Richmond Division of the FBI, Roanoke Resident Agency. I am presently and have

previously been assigned to investigate drug trafficking and violent crimes, among other

criminal matters. During my time as a Special Agent with the FBI, I have participated in

both drug trafficking and violent crimes investigations. Further, 1 have experience and

training in a variety of investigative and legal matters, including the topics of lawful arrests,

the drafting of affidavits, and probable cause. Prior to being a Special Agent with the FBI,

I practiced law for approximately ten years, and as a result, have additional extensive

experience with affidavits and federal law and practice.

3. The information contained In this affidavit IS based on my personal

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knowledge, my training and experience, and facts and information provided to me by other

law enforcement officers involved in this investigation. The facts compromising the basis

for this affidavit are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

4. Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of supporting

a federal criminal complaint and arrest warrant for the defendant, this affidavit does not

purport to set forth all the facts and circumstances known to me about this matter. Instead,

this affidavit sets forth only those facts which I believe are necessary to support a finding of

probable cause to believe that the defendant committed the charged offenses. Unless

specifically indicated otherwise, all statements described in this affidavit are related in

substance and in part only and all dates are approximate.

RELEVANT STATUTES

5. As a result of my training and experience, I am familiar with federal criminal

laws. Title 21, United States Code, Section 841 prohibits manufacturing, distributing,

dispensing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a controlled

substance. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(a).

PROBABLE CAUSE

CUNNINGHAM'S MAY 14,2020 ARREST

6. As background and context for this criminal complaint and request for an

arrest warrant, on the evening of May 14,2020, officers of the Roanoke, Virginia area High

Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force ("HIDTA"), Roanoke City Police Department

("RCPD"), and other law enforcement agencies conducted a controlled heroin purchase from

Tyshea Anthony Cunningham ("CUNNINGHAM") using a confidential informant,

hereinafter referred to as Confidential Informant 1. Following the controlled purchase,

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RCPD arrested CUNNINGHAM.

7. Following the arrest, CUNNINGHAM, the vehicle he was driving, and the

residence from which CUNNINGHAM was observed entering and exiting during and

following the controlled buy, were searched. Among the items recovered by RCPD included

a firearm in CUNNINGHAM's vehicle, a large amount of U.S. Currency, and in the

residence was a substance consistent with heroin and estimated to weigh approximately one-

half ounce to an ounce.

CUNNINGHAM'S SALES OF METHAMPHETAMINE

8. Prior to the events set forth above, and starting in or about 2019, the FBI, in

coordination with HIDT A and other law enforcement agencies, had been investigating

CUNNINGHAM for narcotics related offences. Consequently, FBI was made aware of the

May 14 controlled purchase and CUNNINGHAM's arrest. Upon CUNNINGHAM's arrest

by RCPD, your affiant and other FBI agents drafted this application for a criminal complaint

and arrest warrant based on previous controlled purchases of methamphetamine from

CUNNINGHAM that had occurred in the months leading up to CUNNINGHAM's May 14

arrest, as set forth in more detail below.

9. Specifically, during the month of March 2020, CUNNINGHAM sold

methamphetamine (hereinafter "meth") to a second confidential informant, hereinafter

Confidential Informant 2, on more than two occasions. The purchases were made under

controlled circumstances and were monitored, observed, and recorded by law enforcement.

Each of the sales occurred in and around Roanoke, Virginia, and within the Western District

of Virgin ia.

10. Prior to the purchases, Confidential Informant 2 identified to HIDTA officers

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an individual from whom the informant purchased illegal narcotics, including meth.

Confidential Informant 2 advised he/she communicated with the individual using Facebook

Messenger and by telephone. The telephone number provided was known by law

enforcement as belonging to and used by CUNNINGHAM.

II. Confidential Informant 2 showed a photograph of the individual, available on

that individual's Facebook page, to law enforcement. The person in the photograph was

known to law enforcement to be CUNNINGHAM. The Facebook profile identified by the

informant as belonging to the individual from whom the informant purchased drugs also was

known by law enforcement as belonging to CUNNINGHAM.

12. For each of the controlled purchases, Confidential Informant 2 contacted

CUNNINGHAM via the phone number and Facebook accounts set forth above, and did so

at the direction of law enforcement officers.

13. Standard controls were in place for each controlled purchase, to include the

use of pre-recorded currency, audio-video recording equipment and procedures for searching

the informant and the informant's vehicle before and after the purchase. The transactions

and the informant were monitored by law enforcement officers, and Confidential Informant

2 returned from these meetings having purchased the requested meth from CUNNINGHAM.

14. For each controlled purchase, Confidential Informant 2 advised that the

individual known to be CUNNINGHAM sold the informant meth in exchange for the pre-

recorded currency the informant provided. CUNNINGHAM can be clearly seen and/or

heard in audio/visual recordings of the controlled purchases, further corroborating the

information provided by the informant. Investigators also directly observed

CUNNINGHAM meeting with the informant during the controlled buy and sale of the meth,

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further corroborating the circumstances of the controlled purchases.

15. Upon completion of the purchases, HIDTA task force members met with the

informant and recovered the suspected meth. The substances and their packaging were

consistent with the appearance and packaging of meth. Following each of the controlled

purchases, HIDTA task force members weighed and field tested the suspected meth, and for

each purchase, the substances purchased by the informant tested positive for

methamphetamine.

16. In total, CUNNINGHAM sold Confidential Informant 2 more than I 00 grams

of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, and did so

while monitored and surveilled by law enforcement, as set forth in the paragraphs above.

CONCLUSION

17. Based on the foregoing, your affiant asserts that there is probable cause to

believe that Tyshea Anthony Cunningham has committed violations of Title 21, United

States Code, Section 841, to wit, distribution of a measurable quantity of a mixture

containing methamphetamine. Accordingly, l respectfully request that a federal arrest

warrant issue for Tyshea Anthony Cunningham.

Respectfully submitted,

arles G. Jarboe, Special Agent

Sworn and attested to telephonically. Federal Bureau of Investigation
15th day of May, 2020.
Sworn before me this ---

Robert S. Ballou
Hon. Robert S. Ballou
United States Magistrate Judge
Western District of Virginia