Three Lincoln County Men Plead Guilty To Oxycodone Trafficking

Charleston, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Richard A. Mullins, John Freddie Joe Johnson, and Joseph James Salmons entered guilty pleas today in federal court to charges relating to the distribution of oxycodone in Lincoln County.      

Beginning in January of 2013, the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force made a series of controlled oxycodone buys from Richard Mullins and his associates.  Today, Richard Mullins, 49, of West Hamlin, admitted that on January 13, 2013, he sold 5 oxycodone 30 mg pills to a confidential informant working with the law enforcement.  Mullins met the informant on the parking lot of the Blossom Junction flower shop in West Hamlin and conducted the drug deal from his car.  Mullins also admitted to other drug sales in Lincoln County. 

John Freddie Joe Johnson, 37, also of West Hamlin admitted that on February 8, 2013, he assisted Mullins and Joseph James Salmons with the sale of oxycodone to a confidential informant outside of Johnson’s residence in West Hamlin, Lincoln County. 

Joseph James Salmons, 24, of Hamlin admitted that on February 13, 2013, he and Mullins sold a confidential information five oxycodone 30 mg pills.  The informant entered Mullins’ home in West Hamlin, Lincoln County and met with Mullins.  The informant handed Mullins $200.00 for the oxycodone.  Mullins handed the $200.00 to Salmons and Salmons handed the informant the oxycodone pills.  Salmons also admitted to other drug sales in Lincoln County.

All three men face up to 20 years imprisonment when they are sentenced on July 8, 2014 by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.

The Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force investigated the case.  Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is in charge of the prosecution. 

This case is being 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 and heroin.  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 and heroin in communities across the Southern District.