Charleston Man Sentenced To More Than 12 Years In Federal Prison For Selling Opana Pills

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Charleston man was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in federal prison for distribution of oxymorphone, also known as “Opana.”   Maurice Minter, also known as “Mo,” 26, previously pleaded guilty in December 2012.  Minter admitted that on August 5, 2011, he sold eight 40-milligram Opana pills to an individual in exchange for $400.  Minter was arrested following the pill transaction.  Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) officers obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s Charleston residence.  During the execution of the search warrant, officers found 180 oxycodone and 109 Opana pills at the residence.     

Minter was sentenced as a career offender because of two prior felony controlled substance convictions in the Circuit Court of Cabell County, West Virginia.

The investigation was conducted by MDENT.  Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn handled the prosecution.  The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.   

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.