FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 13, 2012
DETROIT MAN SENTENCED TO THREE AND A HALF YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Detroit man was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for illegal possession of prescription drugs. Eric Djuan Corley, 25, of Detroit, previously pleaded guilty in May to aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute oxymorphone, also known as “Opana.” On December 14, 2011, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in which the defendant was a passenger. Corley admitted that during the traffic stop, he gave a quantity of oxymorphone pills to an associate and directed the known individual to hide the pills on her person.
Corley further admitted that he was illegally transporting the oxymorphone tablets from Detroit and intended to give the pills to an individual located in Huntington. The defendant also admitted to possessing a total of 329 40-milligram oxymorphone pills.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.
The Huntington Police Department, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory McVey handled the prosecution. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
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