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Press Release
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Johnny Michael Stallard, 39, of Kingsport, Tennessee, was sentenced on Jan. 22, 2015, by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District Court Judge, to a federal prison term of 180 months for his leadership role in an a-PVP (alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone) distribution conspiracy centered in and around the Sullivan County, Tennessee area. A-PVP is a synthetic drug which is commonly referred to on the street as “gravel.”
According to the plea agreement on file with the U.S. District Court, Stallard admitted, that before he got arrested, he was one of the biggest a-PVP dealers in the Kingsport, Tennessee area. On occasions, he obtained a-PVP by the kilogram from an out of state source of supply. He admitted to personally selling and/or having other family members such as Austin Michael Stallard, 19, and David Michael Stallard, 20, both of Kingsport, sell approximately 7,500 grams of a-PVP in the Eastern District of Tennessee and elsewhere. He also admitted that the two younger family members were basically serving as interns for the organization and were supposed to take over for him eventually. Even after he was arrested and in jail, Stallard assisted them and others in the continued sale of a-PVP during numerous recorded telephone conversations.
Stallard was indicted with a number of his family members. His son, Austin Michael Stallard was previously sentenced to 121 months for his role in trafficking a-PVP, hydromorphone and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. His cousin, Leslie Stallard, 37, and his aunt Peggy Stallard, 55, both of Kingsport, were previously sentenced to serve 60 and 72 months in prison respectively for their roles in the a-PVP distribution conspiracy. David Michael Stallard and another co-defendant were also convicted on a-PVP conspiracy charges and have upcoming sentencing dates.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation which led to the indictment and subsequent convictions of Johnny Michael Stallard and co-defendants included the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, Kingsport Police Department, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department, Johnson City Police Department, Greeneville, Tennessee Police Department, Hendersonville, North Carolina Police Department, Scott County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.