Tabatha Drake, Conspiracy to Distribute Oxycodone, Virginia 2024

ABINGDON, VA - Nine residents of Kingsport and Gate City have pleaded guilty to a drug distribution conspiracy in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon.

Tabatha Drake, 22, of Blountville, Tennessee; Mickey Fields, 26, of Gate City, Virginia; Joshua Holmes, 21, of Kingsport, Tennessee; Thomas Laney, 25, of Kingsport, Tennessee; Jessica Light, 25, of Gate City, Virginia; Connie Puckett, 43, of Kingsport, Tennessee; Jacob Spivey, 25, of Gate City, Virginia; Lovella Sweeney, 30, of Kingsport, Tennessee; and Donald Lee Whitefeather, 59, of Gate City, Virginia, each entered pleas of guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone.

According to evidence presented by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Lee, the individuals who pleaded guilty were all involved in the distribution of controlled substances in Scott County, Virginia and Sullivan County, Tennessee from approximately 2007-2011.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Scott County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, Sullivan County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office, Sullivan County, Tennessee District Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service.

Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee of the United States Attorney’s Office in Abingdon is prosecuting the case.

Each defendant faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000. Spivey also entered a plea of guilty to one count of distributing Suboxone within 1,000 feet of a school, carrying a potential punishment of up to twenty years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine and a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of one year.

United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy commended the efforts of the agencies involved in the investigation, saying, “The success of this case demonstrates our commitment to work together across state lines to put criminal drug organizations out of business.”

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdva/pr/nine-residents-kingsport-and-gate-city-plead-guilty-drug-distribution-conspiracy