Centreville, Va. - Ten teenagers and young adults have been arrested as part of a police crackdown on a major heroin ring that authorities believe may have been in operation for as long as three years, dealing drugs to teens in Centreville.

Joshua Randolph Quick, 21, of Centreville; David Elliot Schreider, 20, of Centreville; Lokesh Rawat, 19, of Centreville; Daniel Richard Nash, 19, of Centreville; Tayler Leigh Gibson, 19, of Centreville; Anna Lucille Richter, 20, of Centreville; Jessica Reynolds Remington, 19, of Fairfax; Ashleigh Lynn Shade, 19, of Fairfax; Skylar Marti Schnippel, 19, of Centreville; and a tenth individual were all charged with being part of a heroin distribution ring operating primarily in Fairfax County (web|news), Va., police confirm. All were between 19-22 years of age.

All except Schnippel were charged with conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. Shade and Schnippel, both 19, are being charged with distribution of heroin resulting in death. Quick and one other defendant are charged with distributing heroin that caused one user to overdose and be hospitalized in August 2007. As a result, those defendants will face mandatory 20-year sentences with the possibility of life in prison. The remaining defendants each face mandatory five-year sentences with the possibility of 40 years in prison.

Federal authorities say the group purchased drugs in the areas of D.C. and Baltimore and then used it and sold it in the Centreville area since the summer of 2007. Investigators believe the ring is responsible for several overdoses and at least three deaths since last December. Many of the deaths involved students from Westfield High School in Centreville.

Many residents are shocked this was going on in their community. "I think that's a pretty big deal," said high school student, Amar Oak. "I've never heard of anything like that happening not in our school -- not in Westfield especially," Oak said.

"It's just very sad," added parent Cheri Reed. "I know it's out there, I think the kids are just really stupid."

Drug treatment experts say that heroin use in Fairfax County is increasing and that the number of people who have died from overdosing on heroin has doubled in recent years.

One of these overdose victims was Alicia Lannes, a bright young woman who was a high school cheerleader and athlete and one day hoped to become a doctor. She died in March from a fatal overdose of heroin her father said was given to her by her boyfriend. Lannes's father, Greg, said he did everything he could to help Alicia, even pleading with his daughter's boyfriend not to give her drugs. Now, the family will watch the case closely, as they believe many of Alicia's friends likely could go to jail.

Another young victim was Alisha Dubois, only 18 years old when heroin claimed her life. Her father recounted, "My older daughter's trying to revive her. ... I could hear Tamra screaming, 'What did you do?' And she said, 'We did heroin last night.' And finally, a paramedic came on the phone and told me that they had lost her, and she was dead."

Mary Marcuccio asks, "How many of these young people are we going to just bury and walk away from?"

Shade and Schnippel, who were arrested Wednesday, have court appearances Thursday at 2:00 in Alexandria (web|news) U.S. District Court.

As for those who may go to jail, Greg Lannes believes they will receive a better fate than his daughter did. "Yes, their lives are going to be a little bit different for a while, but in the long term they're going to have a life," he said. "At least they're going to be able to return to a life, where my daughter will never be able to return to hers."