, Two Indicted For Racketeering
Charges Filed In Floyd County
Two Rockbridge County residents were among several individuals indicted by a Floyd County grand jury Aug. 19 for multiple counts of racketeering.
Molly Kathleen Lepisto, 40, of Natural Bridge, and Earl Wayne Smith, 67, of Lexington, were each indicted on five counts of racketeering for a period between Nov. 12, 2020, and Feb. 10, 2025.
Smith is already facing local charges of human trafficking and selling drugs. He had been arrested on Feb. 10 and charged with one felony count of human trafficking and several misdemeanors, including three counts of residing in a bawdy place and one count of prostitution. In July, a Rockbridge County grand jury indicted him on nine felony counts of human trafficking and nine felony counts of selling schedule I or II drugs between July 10, 2024, and Feb. 10, 2025. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the Rockbridge charges on Monday.
SMITH
LEPISTO
Lepisto was taken into custody by the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 21 on warrants for the Floyd County charges.
As of midday Tuesday, three other individuals had been taken into custody following indictments from the Floyd County grand jury. Jose Jorge Sanchez, 40, was indicted on five counts of racketeering for the same time period as Smith and Lepisto and arrested on Aug. 26; Lindsey Renee Burnette, 37, was indicted on two counts between Jan. 1, 2024, and Feb. 10, 2025, and taken into custody on Aug. 21; and Kenneth James Tolley, 29, was indicted on one count between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024, and was taken into custody on Aug. 21.
All five individuals are charged with operating as part of a criminal enterprise and aggregating $10,000 or more into “any title to, or any right, interest or equity in, real property, or in the establishment of any operation or enterprise,” according to the Virginia State Code.
Racketeering is a class two felony, and carries a sentence of 20 years to life in prison for each charge. Virginia State Police said in a statement released Friday that the “individuals involved … engaged in drug dealing, prostitution and human trafficking, operating across multiple jurisdictions from Floyd County to Rockbridge County.”
In a statement posted to its Facebook page on Saturday, the Floyd County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office praised the efforts of state and local law enforcement in the investigation.
“This investigation and resulting prosecution represent the outcome of a strong and sustained partnership between all involved agencies,” the post said. “It underscores the commitment of the Virginia State Police, the Floyd County and Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Offices, and both Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Offices to preserving the safety of our communities.”
