New Jersey Man Sentenced To Nearly Five Years In Prison For Possessing Illegal Pills

BECKLEY, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a New Jersey man was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute oxycodone, a powerful prescription painkiller.  William Ponder, 24 of Teaneck, New Jersey previously pled guilty in October of 2013, admitting that he had illegally possessed the drugs. The oxycodone pills were seized during the execution of a search warrant at a home in Mabscott, West Virginia where Ponder was temporarily staying.  Ponder’s sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Irene Berger.  

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Beckley Police Department handled the investigation.

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.