A federal prosecutor on Tuesday began unraveling the third strand of what investigators describe as a sort of triple conspiracy to import heroin into Roanoke and nearby areas.

Meghan Rae Jones and Ralph Houson Covington became the eighth and ninth convictions among 11 defendants in three recent, linked heroin cases. Guilty plea hearings for the final defendants are scheduled for today.

Jones, 25, and Covington, 48, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Roanoke to conspiring to distribute heroin. Jones faces a five-year minimum sentence and Covington, who had a prior conviction for distributing cocaine, faces a 10-year minimum sentence.

In the federal system, the only way to escape the mandatory minimum penalties is to assist authorities in other prosecutions, although it is ultimately up to a judge to decide if a lighter sentence is warranted.

Throughout the recent heroin cases, authorities have described three men as running parallel, loosely organized groups that drew on connections to heroin suppliers in New Jersey and Philadelphia.

The three men sometimes worked independently, sometimes in various combinations, investigators said.

One of the men, Clifton Dwight "Lite" Lee, pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to distribute heroin. A second, Robert Dwayne "Dollar Rob" Early, was convicted last week after a two-day jury trial.

The third, Alvin Lewis "Chief" Macauley, is scheduled to plead guilty today.

In court Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Wolthuis said Jones and Covington were involved with Macauley, with Jones making trips to New Jersey to bring back heroin, and Covington selling the drug to users in Roanoke.

"You were a low-level dealer?" U.S. District Court Judge Glen Conrad asked Covington.

"Yes," Covington replied.

Echoing a theme that's appeared throughout the cases, Wolthuis said Covington and his ex-wife Dorraine Kay Covington, who is scheduled to plead guilty today, were basically feeding their own heroin addiction by dealing.

"There is no evidence of any accumulation of material wealth," he told the judge. "If anything, they were impoverished by their drug addiction."