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May 21, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wheeling Island Resident Sentenced as
Part of Operation Pill Broker

 

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA — A 51 year old Wheeling, West Virginia, resident was sentenced on May 18, 2009, in United States District Court in Wheeling by Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that FREDDIE JOE BLAKE was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment to be followed by six years of supervised release, for his role in selling prescription pills. BLAKE entered a plea of guilty on March 6, 2009, to one count of distribution of oxycodone on July 2, 2008, within 1,000 feet of a Madison Elementary School.

BLAKE was also sentenced to serve an additional 24 months imprisonment for committing this crime while already being on supervised release for a prior drug felony offense.

BLAKE was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal.

This case reflects law enforcement’s focus on prosecuting individuals who illegally sell prescription drugs, as set for in the district’s initiative “Operation Pill Broker.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John C. Parr. The case was investigated by the Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, which consists of officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Wheeling Police Department and the Ohio County Sheriff's Department.