Powell County Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Methamphetamine Trafficking

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Beattyville, Ky., man, Byron Wathen, 47, was sentenced in federal court on Tuesday, to ten years in prison, by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell, for possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to his plea agreement, on March 11, 2022, law enforcement found Wathen passed out, laying on his steering wheel at a car wash.  During the incident, law enforcement located a pill pocket that contained a crystal substance and, elsewhere in his vehicle, a black bag containing 70 grams of methamphetamine, scales, and $6,613 in cash.

Wathen pleaded guilty in August 2022.

Under federal law, Wathen must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.  Upon his release, his three-year term of supervision by the U.S. Probation Office will commence.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; J. Todd Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; and Grant Faulkner, Chief of Police, Stanton Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA and the Stanton Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Greenfield.

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