Huntington Woman Pleads Guilty in Oxycodone Conspiracy

Huntington, W.Va. — Lorie A. Mayhon, 43, admitted in federal court today that she conspired to distribute oxycodone in a brazen 2017 drug deal that ended with state troopers pulling 454 high-dose pills from a suspect’s sock. The guilty plea marks another conviction in the federal crackdown on pill mills and street-level opioid trafficking in southern West Virginia.

Mayhon’s role unfolded on September 15, 2017, when she helped set up a transaction for 500 thirty-milligram oxycodone tablets in exchange for $20,000 in cash. The deal was brokered with a confidential informant at a residence on Collis Avenue, where Mayhon arrived alongside codefendants Joseph Melbar and Curtis Holcomb. After hashing out the details, Mayhon and Holcomb left the house to retrieve the narcotics from another associate.

The operation collapsed minutes later. As the vehicle carrying Mayhon, Holcomb, and the pills sped through Huntington, a West Virginia State Police trooper pulled them over on Artisan Avenue. A search revealed Holcomb had stashed 454 oxycodone pills in his sock. The entire stash, intended for street sale, was seized on the spot.

U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart wasted no words in condemning the conspiracy. “We’re working every day with law enforcement in Huntington to get pain pills off the streets,” Stuart said. “Pill pushers need to understand that there’s nothing but hard time waiting for those who try to sell their poison in our communities.”

Mayhon now faces up to 20 years in federal prison when she’s sentenced on June 4, 2018. She’s not alone. Joseph Melbar and Curtis Holcomb have already pled guilty to their roles in the same conspiracy. Both face identical 20-year maximum sentences, with Melbar scheduled for sentencing May 29, 2018, and Holcomb on May 7, 2018.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph F. Adams and handled before U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers. It’s part of a broader Southern District initiative targeting prescription drug trafficking rings that have fueled the opioid epidemic. Federal, state, and local agencies continue coordinated efforts to dismantle networks peddling oxycodone, fentanyl, and heroin across Appalachia.

RELATED: Tonya Thompson Guilty

RELATED: West Virginia Woman Pleads Guilty to Three-State Bank Robberies