Beckley area woman sentenced for federal drug charge

KLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that a Sophia woman was sentenced in federal court in Beckley for a federal drug offense.  Andrea Austin, age 43, of Sophia, West Virginia  was sentenced to five years of probation plus 100 hours of community service.  Austin previously pled guilty in February of 2015, to distributing heroin to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities.  The drug deal took place on East Camilia Street in Sophia.

This case was investigated by the Beckley Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and is being prosecuted under the Beckley Pill Initiative directed by the United States Attorney’s Office.

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 and heroin.  The United States 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.