FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dec. 22, 2011
KANAWHA COUNTY MAN SENTENCED TO 102 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR OXYCODONE DISTRIBUTION
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Rashid Omari Kent, 28, of Dunbar, Kanawha County, W.Va., was sentenced today to 102 months in prison by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. for distribution of oxycodone. Kent pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute oxycodone in May. The defendant admitted that on April 7, 2010, he sold five 80-milligram oxycodone tablets to an informant working with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department. The drug transaction occurred at the defendant’s Dunbar residence. Following the transaction, investigators executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home where they seized approximately 53 80-milligram oxycodone tablets and approximately $809 cash. The defendant further admitted that he had been distributing oxycodone in and around Kanawha County for approximately seven months prior to April 7, 2010.
On August 24, while out on bond and awaiting sentencing, the defendant sold five 30-milligram oxycodone tablets to a Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) informant. Later the same day, Kent was arrested and found to be in possession of 23 30-milligram oxycodone tablets, 51 alprazolam tablets (2mg each), and one 20-milligram oxymorphone tablet. The Court sentenced the defendant to 87 months on the initial oxycodone distribution charge and 15 consecutive months stemming from the second felony offense.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT). Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks handled the prosecution.
This case was 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 various federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, remain 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.
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