BLUEFIELD -
According to a press release from U.S. Attorney Booth
Goodwin, 10 Mercer County
residents were sentenced in the last week of May on drug charges. The charges
were all a part of the Bluefield Pill Initiative.
"Prescription drug abuse has ravaged families and
communities across the country. No place has been hit any harder than the area
around Bluefield," said Goodwin.
The Bluefield Pill Initiative was started by Goodwin in June
2011, as part of a comprehensive plan aimed at eliminating the illegal
distribution of prescription drugs in southern West
Virginia.
"Last year, I announced the Bluefield Pill Initiative, which
was aimed at directly at the people responsible for that damage," Goodwin
continued. "Today I'm glad to announce we're turning the tide. This week's
sentences take 10 Bluefield-area pill dealers off the streets. One of those
dealers admitted to selling over 10,000 pills in a year. Getting these
criminals out of the community is a great start, and we're going to keep up the
pressure in the month's ahead."
On Tuesday, May 29th the following sentences
were issued by United States District Judge David A. Faber:
- Thomas
Sheppheard, 34, of Pipestem, W.Va., sentenced to 15 months in prison for distributing
hydromorphone (commonly known as Dilaudid);
- Steven
C. Alt, 29, of Keyser, W.Va., sentenced to 10 months in prison for aiding and
abetting the distribution of hydromorphone;
- Ashley
Hylton, 21, of Bluefield, W.Va., who admitted to selling over 10,000
hydromorphone pills in a year and was sentenced to six months' home confinement
and three years' probation; and
- Roger
Lee Stables, Jr., 45, of Montcalm, W.Va., sentenced to 21 months in prison for distributing marijuana in a case
prosecuted under the Bluefield Pill Initiative.
The following sentences were issued on Wednesday, May
30th, also by Judge Faber:
- Latosha
Lynette Brown, 29, of Bluefield, W.Va., sentenced to 3 years of probation for distributing
hydromorphone;
- Viney
Jean Stables, 32, of Montcalm, W.Va., sentenced to 15 months in prison for aiding and
abetting the distribution of oxycodone;
- Chanty
Annette Green, 30, of Bluefield, W.Va., sentenced to 12 months in prison for distributing
hydromorphone;
- Michael
W. McBride, 36, of Lerona, W.Va., sentenced to 18 months in prison for aiding and
abetting the distribution of hydromorphone;
- Katie
Slaughter, 23, of Princeton, W.Va., sentenced to 6 months in prison for distributing
hydromorphone; and
- Niketa
Whittaker, 22, of, Athens, W.Va., sentenced to 13 months in prison for distributing
hydromorphone.
The Bluefield Pill Initiative is a collaborative
effort to halt prescription drug trafficking in Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming Counties. It is headed by the Southern Regional Drug and
Violent Crime Task Force, including the West Virginia State Police Bureau of
Criminal Investigation
The Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming County Sheriff's
Departments all participate in the initiative.
The Prosecutions of cases sentenced this week were
handled by Attorneys Miller Bushong and John File.
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