Anthony Prettyman, Fentanyl Trafficking, New York 2023

Rochester, N.Y. - In a major blow to the opioid epidemic, 28-year-old Anthony Prettyman of Elmira, New York, was sentenced to 125 months in federal prison for his role in a large-scale opioid manufacturing and trafficking organization, announced U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. today.

Prettyman's conviction stems from his involvement in a mid-level dealers role in distributing blue pills containing furanyl fentanyl and U-47700 in the Elmira area, as part of the organization led by Robert Ian Thatcher and Maximillian Sams. The blue pills were manufactured to resemble legitimate 30 milligram Percocet pills.

Prettyman admitted to selling pills to various customers, including a 21-year-old female who ultimately died of a drug overdose from using the pills. He also confessed to smuggling over 5,300 pills containing furanyl fentanyl to North Carolina in October 2016.

Prettyman was caught by the Iredell County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Office transporting the pills in the false bottom of a fake paint can. The sentencing is a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Rochester Resident Office and Scranton PA Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division.

Today's sentencings are the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Rochester Resident Office and Scranton PA Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division; the New York State Police, Community Narcotics Enforcement Team Southern Tier, under the direction of Major Mary Clark and Lieutenant Kevin P. Sucher; the Elmira Police Department, under the direction of Chief Joseph Kane; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division; the Pennsylvania State Police, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Lieutenant Colonel Robert Evanchick; the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Christopher J. Moss; the Iredell, NC County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Darren E. Campbell; and Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Unit, under the direction of Director Brian Manaher.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who handled the case, stated that both defendants were part of a large-scale opioid manufacturing and trafficking organization that operated in the Southern Tier of New York between 2015 and May 2017.

To date, 16 members and associates of the opioid manufacturing and trafficking operation have been convicted of federal narcotics offenses. Seven defendants have been sentenced: Thatcher was sentenced to serve 23 years in federal prison; Thatcher’s girlfriend, Amber Bates, who was convicted of money laundering conspiracy, was sentenced to five years probation to include six months of home detention; Robert J. Elford was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison; Edward Barrett was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison; Dusty Pemberton was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison; Deven Hill was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison; and Isaiah McLaurin, who was convicted of witness tampering after threatening an individual working with the Drug Enforcement Administration on Facebook, was sentenced to serve 57 months in federal prison.

Defendant Information:

Defendant: Anthony J. Prettyman

Charge: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue

Date: Today

Sentence: 125 months in federal prison

Location: Rochester, N.Y.

Contact: Barbara Burns, PHONE: (716) 843-5817, FAX #: (716) 551-3051

Cases: U.S. vs. Anthony Prettyman

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdny/pr/two-more-opioid-dealers-sentenced-their-roles-elmira-drug-trafficking-ring-0