Detroit Dealer Antonio Newson Gets 12+ Years for Heroin Bust

Huntington enforcers shut down a major Detroit pipeline, sending 43-year-old Antonio Newson to federal prison for 151 months — more than 12 years — after seizing nearly a kilo of heroin and a loaded firearm from his West Virginia apartment in 2017. The sentence, handed down today by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers, marks another blow in the Southern District’s relentless crackdown on out-of-state drug traffickers flooding Appalachian communities with poison.

On July 10, 2017, the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force stormed Newson’s unit at 1748 Jefferson Avenue, Apartment 1, acting on a search warrant that led to the discovery of approximately 983 grams of heroin stashed in a bedroom closet. Tucked beside the narcotics: a firearm, later tied directly to Newson through his own admissions in a plea agreement. He admitted not only ownership but involvement in additional drug operations outlined in the indictment.

“Another Detroit dealer off the streets,” said U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart, who made the announcement from Charleston. “Thanks to the tireless work of the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force, yet another Detroit drug dealer has been taken off the streets of Huntington. Together with our law enforcement partners, we are taking Huntington back, one Detroit drug dealer at a time.” His tone sharpened with sarcasm: “At the pace we’re locking up Detroit thugs, the State of Michigan should be sending us money to help pay prison costs.”

Newson, a resident of Detroit, Michigan, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin — a charge carrying steep mandatory minimums. The nearly kilogram-weight of the seized drugs suggests wholesale distribution, not casual use, feeding into a broader epidemic that has ravaged Huntington, once labeled the overdose capital of the U.S.

Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie S. Taylor prosecuted the case, which falls under a sustained federal initiative targeting prescription pill and heroin networks in the Southern District of West Virginia. The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to mobilize joint task forces, combining federal, state, and local muscle to dismantle trafficking rings, shut down open-air markets, and sever supply lines from urban hubs like Detroit.

With overdose deaths still spiking across the state, today’s sentence sends a clear message: outsiders bringing drugs into West Virginia will face maximum consequences. Newson now begins a 151-month stretch in federal custody — years carved out of a life dedicated to distribution, and time reclaimed by justice.