Two Dayton men pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Friday to drug charges stemming from the federal "Operation Fly City" enforcement operation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announced.
Austin Womble, 31, and Pete Craft, 45, both of Dayton, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The drug crimes are punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison, federal prosecutors said.
Womble also admitted to using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. That charge is punishable by at least five years and up to life in prison, to be served consecutive to any other sentence, according to prosecutors.
According to court documents cited by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Womble and Craft sold narcotics, including methamphetamine, to undercover agents in April and May 2026 at locations around the greater Dayton area, including the Dayton Motor Motel on Keowee Street, a vacant property on Elmwood Avenue and Womble’s residence on Hudson Avenue.
Prosecutors said Womble is responsible for selling more than a kilogram of methamphetamine, and Craft is responsible for selling approximately half a kilogram of the drug, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement.
Womble and Craft are two of the 47 defendants charged this summer as part of Operation Fly City, a Homeland Security Task Force enforcement operation, prosecutors said. The pleas were entered before U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman, and sentencing for both men will be set by the court at a future hearing, based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II along with officials from the ATF, Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit, Dayton Police Chief Eric Henderson and Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica D. Lunderman is representing the United States in the case. What happens next: the court schedules sentencing hearings for Womble and Craft, and the remaining Operation Fly City cases continue to move through federal court in Dayton.
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