FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 24, 2011
OHIO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO OXYCODONE DISTRIBUTION CHARGE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –Ronie Wayne Tucker, 41, of South Point, Ohio, pleaded guilty today in federal court before United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. Tucker admitted that during May 2011, he was part of a drug trafficking enterprise operating in and around Huntington, West Virginia and South Point, Ohio. The defendant also admitted that the oxycodone that was distributed by him and co-conspirators was typically obtained from Detroit. On May 11, 2011, following a telephone conversation between a known associate of the defendant’s and a confidential informant working for the Huntington Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force (HVCDTF), the defendant met the informant at a mutual location in South Point, Ohio, where he subsequently distributed 55 30-milligram oxycodone tablets.
Tucker faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on January 30, 2012.
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 Huntington Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force (HVCDTF) conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.
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