Clayton Carroll Owenby, Oxycodone Distribution & Threatening a Witness, Tennessee 2013

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Clayton Carroll Owenby, 45, of Newport, Tenn., has been sentenced to serve 135 months in prison for his role in a large-scale oxycodone distribution operation in Eastern Tennessee.

Owenby pleaded guilty to a March 2013 federal indictment charging him and nine others with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, a highly addictive prescription painkiller. Additionally, Owenby pleaded guilty to a separate federal indictment filed in May 2013, charging him with threatening to retaliate against a witness in the case.

The conspiracy involved conspirators obtaining prescriptions for oxycodone from various pain clinics and physicians across the state of Tennessee and then redistributing the drug in the Eastern District of Tennessee. Owenby admitted to obtaining 5,718 total dose units (totaling 176,240 milligrams) of oxycodone from multiple physicians.

While in federal custody during the pendency of his drug case, Owenby made numerous phone calls to his mother, Kathleen Garrett, wherein he threatened to physically retaliate against the lead case agent and his family. Owenby admitted to making these threats in response to the agent’s role in the investigation.

“This sentence reflects, not only the defendant’s serious original crime, but the totally unacceptable threats of physical harm to the federal agent and his family,” said U.S. Attorney William C. Killian.

This case is the result of a joint investigation by the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Kerney-Quillen is representing the United States.

Owenby’s sentence was handed down by the Honorable Leon Jordan, U.S. District Judge, on September 5, 2013. Garrett, Owenby’s mother, also pleaded guilty to threatening to retaliate against a witness and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 19, 2013.

Owenby was charged with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and threatening to retaliate against a witness. He was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison.

This case highlights the dangers of oxycodone distribution and the serious consequences for those who engage in this activity. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office are to be commended for their efforts in bringing this case to justice.

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