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Bluefield Prescription Pill Ring Busted
Three defendants have been sentenced on federal drug charges in Bluefield, West Virginia, for their roles in a prescription pill trafficking ring.
Aree Lumpkins, 20, of Princeton, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for using a telephone to arrange for the distribution of hydromorphone. Lumpkins pleaded guilty in July and admitted to setting up a drug deal with an informant on October 30, 2014, in Bluefield. He also admitted to distributing drugs to the informant on several other occasions.
Craig Arnold Young, 42, of Lashmeet, was sentenced to one year and one month in federal prison for using a telephone to arrange a drug deal involving hydromorphone. Young pleaded guilty in July and admitted to carrying out a drug transaction with an informant on December 16, 2014, in or near Lashmeet. He distributed a total of 255 hydromorphone pills over time.
Antonio Padgett, 36, of Welch, was sentenced to two years and three months in federal prison for crack distribution. Padgett pleaded guilty in July and admitted to distributing about five grams of crack to an informant in Welch on March 16, 2011. He was also involved in additional crack deals.
The cases were investigated by the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force under the Bluefield Pill Initiative, a collaborative effort to halt prescription drug trafficking in Mercer, McDowell, and Wyoming counties. The 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.
Assistant United States Attorney John File handled the prosecution of Lumpkins and Young, while Assistant United States Attorney John Frail handled the prosecution of Padgett. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down drug trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and other drugs in communities across the Southern District.
These sentences are the latest in a series of actions taken by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs in the region. The office will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute those responsible for prescription pill trafficking and other drug-related crimes.
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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