Ceredo Woman Pleads Guilty To Federal Heroin Charge

Huntington, W.Va. - U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Helen Louise Adkins, of Ceredo, pleaded guilty today in federal court to distributing heroin to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agent.

In January of 2013, Adkins sold two grams of heroin to an undercover DEA agent in the parking lot of a Huntington grocery store.  When confronted, Adkins admitted that she was involved in a drug conspiracy with Bobby Nelson Gulley and Alanna Lynn Mattison to transport heroin and oxycodone from Detroit, Michigan for distribution in Huntington.  Between January and August of 2013, Adkins allowed Gulley to sell the drugs from her apartment at 522 14th Street West in Huntington.

In August of 2013, agents searched multiple locations associated with the drug conspiracy.  During the search, agents recovered over 140 grams of heroin, 974 oxycodone tablets and $12,000 in cash.  Gulley pleaded guilty on January 21, for his involvement in the conspiracy.

Adkins faced up to 20 years in federal prison.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 28, 2014.  DEA and the Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecution. 

This case is being 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.