Melinda Sharon Higgins, Distribution of Hydromorphone, West Virginia 2018

ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – A Randolph County woman has admitted to distributing a controlled substance, officials announced.

Melinda Sharon Higgins, 39, of Elkins, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to one count of Distribution of Hydromorphone in U.S. District Court.

According to court documents, Higgins admitted to distributing hydromorphone in Randolph County in April 2018.

With the guilty plea, Higgins faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. The actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant, under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force investigated the case.

The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided over the proceedings.

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