Feds: Winchester man indicted for conspiring to distribute drugs

Joshua Burkhart has been indicted on federal drug charges. Photo: Virginia State Police.

Harrisonburg, Va. – A grand jury on Tuesday charged a Winchester man with a federal drug conspiracy charge, following a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force.

Joshua Dillon Burkhart, 26, was charged in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia with one felony count of conspiring with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 1,000 grams or more of heroin and to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, according to United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr.

Prior to his Dec. 19 arrest, Virginia State Police issued a news release on Dec. 8 asking for the public’s help in locating Burkhart, who allegedly fled from police on Nov. 13 at the intersection of U.S. Route 522 and Ebenezer Church Road in Frederick County.

Burkhart has a lengthy criminal history, including guilty pleas for charges including possession and distribution of heroin, as well as carrying a concealed weapon.

Burkhart is being held without bond at the Rockingham/Harrisonburg Regional Jail, online court records show; a jury trial has been set for March 13 in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg.

Assistant United States Attorney Erin M. Kulpa will prosecute the case for the United States.