Joseph Andrew Hobbs, Methamphetamine Conspiracy, Virginia 2019

A Wise County man has been sentenced to 228 months in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine conspiracy.

Joseph Andrew Hobbs, 28, was one of 20 defendants charged with conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty in August 2019 to one count of conspiring to distribute and possessing with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, the 20 defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Lee and Wise counties, and elsewhere, between July 1, 2016 and May 1, 2019. To date, all 20 defendants have been convicted via plea agreement or jury trial.

Hobbs is the second defendant to be sentenced. On December 18, 2019, Susan Adrianna Mullins was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force, which is comprised of the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Wise County Sheriff’s Office, Dickenson County Sheriff’s Office, Norton Police Department, Big Stone Gap Police Department, and the Virginia State Police.

Assistant United States Attorneys Lena Busscher, Anthony P. Giorno, Jonathan Jones, and Zachary T. Lee prosecuted the case for the United States.

Hobbs, a native of Wise County, will serve his sentence at a federal prison to be determined. The case is a reminder of the ongoing struggle against methamphetamine trafficking in our region.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdva/pr/wise-county-man-sentenced-role-methamphetamine-conspiracy