FAYETTE COUNTY MAN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR OXYCODONE DISTRIBUTION

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Fayette County man was sentenced to eight months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for distributing oxycodone.  Phillip E. Adkins, 44, of Hilltop, Fayette County, W.Va., previously pleaded guilty in June.  Adkins admitted that on Feb. 1, 2012, he illegally sold three 30-milligram oxycodone pills to an individual cooperating with law enforcement authorities.  Adkins also admitted that on January 20, 2012, he sold ten 10-milligram hydrocodone pills to the individual cooperating with law enforcement. 

On September 15, 2011, law enforcement officers seized a firearm, seven 30-milligram oxycodone pills, 111 hydrocodone pills and $1,379 cash from the defendant’s Hilltop residence.  

The West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney John File handled the prosecution.  The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston. 

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 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. 

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