Edwin Willis, Armed Methamphetamine Trafficking, Kentucky 2018

LONDON, Ky

Edwin Willis, a 44-year-old man from Corbin, Kentucky, was sentenced to 300 months (25 years) in federal prison by United States District Judge Robert E. Wier for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking offense.

Willis has three prior felony drug convictions, which qualified him for career offender status and an enhanced sentence under federal law.

The sentencing comes after Willis pled guilty to the charges against him in March of 2018. Willis was the final defendant to be sentenced in an interstate drug conspiracy led by Marti Payne, through which pound levels of methamphetamine were imported from Georgia to Whitley and Laurel County, Kentucky between April of 2017 and August of 2017.

The conspiracy concluded on August 1, 2017, when law enforcement arrested Payne and Willis. Willis’s arrest followed a chase during which firearms were discarded from the vehicle. A subsequent search of that vehicle revealed that Willis was in possession of over 200 grams of methamphetamine.

The investigation confirmed that Willis, armed with a firearm, had traveled with Payne to Georgia to obtain methamphetamine. Eleven other defendants who participated in the conspiracy to obtain and distribute methamphetamine have previously pled guilty and were sentenced, including Marti Payne (160 months), Whitney Wright (93 months), Brandon Huff (118 months), Courtney Stacy (120 months), Jamieson Taylor Wayne Minton (92 months), Ethan Powers (93 months), Jamie Peters (124 months), David Russell (68 months), Christopher Jonas (160 months), Kenneth Buchanan (125 months), and Ladonna Ping (65 months).

Under federal law, the defendants must serve 85 percent of their prison sentences, and upon their release, they will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office.

The investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Kentucky State Police, the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, and the Williamsburg Police Department. United States Attorney Robert M. Duncan, Jr. announced the sentencing, which is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program aimed at reducing violent crime in local communities.

Willis's sentencing brings an end to a significant investigation into the interstate methamphetamine trafficking ring. The PSN program has been instrumental in bringing together law enforcement agencies and communities to combat violent crime.

Mandatory Facts:

Defendant: Edwin Willis

Criminal Charges: Conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking offense

City and State: London, Kentucky

Date: March 2018 (plea), August 1, 2017 (arrest)

Sentence: 300 months (25 years) in federal prison

Amount: Over 200 grams of methamphetamine

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edky/pr/whitley-county-man-sentenced-300-months-armed-drug-trafficking