FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 6, 2012
PUTNAM COUNTY MAN SENTENCED TO 24 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR OXYCODONE DISTRIBUTION
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –John Caleb Adkins, 22, of Culloden, Putnam County, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison by United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. Adkins pleaded guilty in November. The defendant admitted that during the fall of 2010 until February 2011, he and other individuals conspired to obtain oxycodone from sources in Florida for the purpose of distributing the tablets in and around Winfield, West Virginia. The defendant also admitted that on January 21, 2011, he distributed two 30-milligram oxycodone tablets and a Marlin rifle to an informant working for the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) in exchange for $130 for the rifle and 480 for the oxycodone. On February 3, 2011, MDENT investigators executed a search warrant at Adkins’ place of business where they recovered a small amount of currency representing drug proceeds and one 30-milligram oxycodone tablet. Adkins directed law enforcement officers to the location of the money and oxycodone. The same day, Adkins’ associate acknowledged that oxycodone tablets were shipped to West Virginia from Florida in quantities ranging from 100 to 400 (30mg) tablets. According to FedEx records, the defendant signed for and retrieved approximately eight such packages addressed to his associate between November 8, 2010 and February 4, 2011.
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.
The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks handled the prosecution.
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