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Press Release

Johnson County Man Sentenced To 84 Months For Armed Drug Trafficking

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Kentucky

PIKEVILLE, KY - A Johnson County man, who previously admitted to trafficking prescription drugs, was sentenced on Tuesday to 84 months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar sentenced 43 year-old John Kline for armed drug trafficking. Under federal law, Kline will have to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.

Kline admitted during his guilty plea, in December 2013, that he had sold Oxycodone pills to several undercover officers with the Kentucky State Police. Kline was also in possession of a loaded semiautomatic pistol at the time of one of the drug transactions. According to the plea agreement, authorities searched Kline’s residence and found hundreds of Oxycodone pills and 17 firearms.

Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Stuart Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge, ATF; Rodney Brewer, Kentucky State Police Commissioner; and Dwayne Price, Johnson County Sheriff, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by ATF, the Kentucky State Police and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hydee Hawkins prosecuted this case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office on behalf of the federal government.

Updated November 25, 2015