Three Members of a Pike County Family Sentenced for Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy

PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Three members of a Pike County family have been sentence to federal prison for their involvement in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Pike County.  On Monday, United States District Judge Robert E. Wier sentenced Roy Blankenship to 85 months in prison.  Today, Blankenship’s wife, Shirley Blankenship, and his brother, Larry Blankenship, were sentenced to 34 and 33 months, respectively. 

Each of the Blankenships pled guilty to the cocaine trafficking charges in March of 2019.  The FBI’s investigation revealed that between 2010 and 2018, the Blankenships regularly obtained cocaine from out of state and sold it in the Stopover community of Pike County.  This conviction marks the fourth federal felony conviction for Roy Blankenship, including a prior felony conviction related to cocaine trafficking.  

Under federal law, the Blankenships must serve 85 percent of their prison sentences. Upon their release, the Blankenships will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; James Robert Brown, Jr., Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge for the Louisville Field Division; Richard Sanders, Kentucky State Police Commissioner; and Christopher Edmonds, Chief of the Pikeville Police Department jointly made the announcement.  The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew H. Trimble.