Federal Guilty Plea From Cabell County Man Who Illegally Sold Oxycodone And Multiple Firearms

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Cabell County man who illegally sold prescription painkillers and several firearms pleaded guilty today to federal charges, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Kenneth Lee Sergent, 40, of Huntington, entered a guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm and distribution of oxycodone before Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers. 

On May 18, 2011, Sergent possessed and sold a .22 caliber revolver to a confidential informant working in cooperation with the Huntington Police Department in exchange for $50.  The illegal firearm transaction took place at Sergent’s Huntington residence that was located at 914 27th Street.  Sergent also sold the confidential informant two 30-milligram oxycodone pills in exchange for $60.   
Sergent also illegally sold firearms to a confidential informant on June 5, 2011 and on August 21, 2011.  The two firearms, both .38 caliber revolvers, were possessed and sold by Sergent in exchange for $300 and $125, respectively. Sergent was arrested by officers with the Huntington Police Department on March 21, 2012.   

Sergent was previously convicted in November 1990 in the Circuit Court of Cabell County, West Virginia of grand larceny.  The defendant did not have his rights to possess a firearm restored. 

Sergent faces up to 10 years in prison on Count One (firearm possession), up to 20 years in prison on Count Two (oxycodone distribution) and a $1,250,000 fine when he is sentenced on August 5, 2013. 
The Huntington Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime.

This case is also 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.