ABINGDON — A total of nine people — including six Wise County residents — were sentenced to federal prison Thursday for their roles in an oxycodone distribution ring that operated between Detroit and Southwest Virginia.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia said the convictions related to the distribution ring resulted from a two-year joint investigation carried out by the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force, Virginia State Police, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“This case is a prime example of what is possible when law enforcement agencies work cooperatively to make communities safer,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said. “The investigators responsible for these convictions crossed jurisdictional boundaries to bring these drug dealers to justice. I appreciate all the hard work of the agencies that contributed to this investigation and prosecution.”
The suspects included Thomas Poole, 67, of Big Stone Gap, who was sentenced to 70 months in prison and James Howard Poole, Sr., 68, of Big Stone Gap, Va., was sentenced to three years probation.
Brittany Hafemeister, 26, of Big Stone Gap, Va., was sentenced to 42 months imprisonment, while Kayla Rochelle Honeycutt, 21, of Appalachia, Va., was sentenced to 36 months.
Matthew Wayne Grubb, 35, of Big Stone Gap, Va., was ordered to serve 70 months in federal prison, while Edward William “Rocky” Walker IV, of Big Stone Gap, was sentenced to 84 months, and Malcolm T’Rell Pinkston, 21, of Big Stone Gap, was sentenced to 48 months.
Two Detroit residents — Lavert Farris, aka Lavert Poole, 26, and Pierre Deshon Wilson, 24 — were sentenced to 72 months and 87 months, respectively.
Prosecutors said the defendants were involved in a distribution ring that brought large quantities of the painkiller oxycodone from Detroit to Southwest Virginia.
Many of the defendants, prosecutors said, were involved in the actual distribution of the drugs in and around Big Stone Gap.
Prosecutors said the narcotics were shipped to the area through FedEx or transported by Farris and Wilson.