Lawrence Ray Bennett, Jr., Conspiracy to Distribute Hydromorphone, West Virginia 2015

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. - In a shocking turn of events, a California man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute hydromorphone in Bluefield, West Virginia.

Lawrence Ray Bennett, Jr., 31, of Los Angeles, California, admitted to conspiring with a co-defendant to distribute the powerful opioid from July 2014 to September 2015. The scheme involved mailing hydromorphone pills from California to his co-defendant, who then sold the pills in and around Bluefield and Princeton, and mailed the proceeds back to Bennett in California.

During the investigation, agents seized a staggering 2,500 hydromorphone pills and approximately $19,000 in cash.

Bennett faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine for his role in the conspiracy. The sentencing is scheduled for February 17, 2016, in federal court in Bluefield.

The Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and the United States Postal Service conducted the investigation.

This case was prosecuted as part of the Bluefield Pill Initiative, a collaborative, multi-agency regional law enforcement effort designed to halt prescription drug trafficking in Mercer, McDowell, and Wyoming counties. The Bluefield Pill Initiative is led by the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, which includes the West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation; the Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming County Sheriff's Departments; and the Bluefield and Princeton Police Departments.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/california-man-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-distribute-hydromorphone