Huntington Man Pleads Guilty To Gun Charge In Major Federal Drug Investigation

Huntington, W.Va. –  William Isiah Petties, 33, of Huntington, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today in federal court to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced.  On January 20, 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted a search of 1130 28th Street in Huntington, pursuant to a search warrant.  Petties was outside that residence when law enforcement arrived to execute the warrant. The address was the residence of Petties’ girlfriend and where Petties stayed on a regular basis.

During the search, agents located a loaded Springfield .40 caliber pistol, which was owned by Petties’ girlfriend but which he jointly possessed and over which he had joint control. In a statement taken after the search, Petties admitted that he possessed the firearm. In 2000, Petties was convicted in Cabell County circuit court of the felony offense of aggravated robbery, and, as a result, was prohibited from possessing the firearm.

Petties was named as one of 15 defendants indicted for various offenses connected with the drug trafficking activities of Kenneth Dewitt Newman, also known as “K-Kutta.” The Newman investigation revealed that Newman, along with others, distributed cocaine, heroin, MDMA, marijuana, and prescription pills in the Huntington area. 

Petties faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on August 18, 2014.  Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers is presiding over the case.

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.