An Elkton family involved in an alleged drug ring that lasted for several years made their appearance in U.S. District Court Tuesday.

One family member, Melissa Ann Crawford, made a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.

However, the rest of the day was spent in selecting the jury. Originally, 40 people were scheduled to come in for selection Tuesday, but the judge had to excuse several of the potential jurors because many said they had been influenced by previous media reports on the Crawfords. So the court had to call in an additional 25 people for the jury selection process.

According to court documents dating back nearly six years, Vern O'Dell Crawford is believed to have made arrangements to obtain wholesale quantities of methamphetamine from various sources. Those documents also say that Vern served as the main source of supply for his two sons, Kenneth O'Dell Crawford and Darrell Wayne Crawford.

Federal court indictments say Joyce Marie Crawford, Melissa Ann, Kenneth O'dell and Darrell Wayne distributed meth under Vern's direction. Most of the transactions took place at a variety of residences and businesses owned or controlled by the Crawford family.

Count one says that police conducted several searches of the Crawfords' properties where they found meth, guns, and drug paraphernalia. It also says the defendants sold drugs to informants on several occasions.

The other major count is a weapons charge that says a grand jury charges the defendants with possession of firearms to further their drug trafficking crime.

The remaining 17 counts describe the drug distributions that happened from July 2006 to July 2007. The case was turned over to the U.S. Attorney in October last year. Opening statements begin Wednesday morning for this case, and the judge expects this trial to go well into next week.

Melissa Ann, who made the plea deal, has been named as one of the potential witnesses the government may ask to testify. The indictments also say the defendants made violent threats to intimidate government witnesses they regarded as a threat to the Crawford group.