Huntington man sentenced to federal prison for role in multistate drug ring

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Huntington man who participated in a multistate drug ring was sentenced today to a year and a day in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Roy Bills, 51, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Between the summer of 2014 and May 2016, Bills conspired with multiple individuals, including Corey Bruce Toney, to distribute marijuana in the Huntington area. Toney frequently acquired quantities of marijuana from a source in California and arranged for the marijuana to be shipped by courier or transported to Huntington. Bills traveled to California on at least two occasions to transport marijuana for the drug ring. Bills admitted that in October 2015, he transported 100 pounds of marijuana, and in March 2016, he transported 80 pounds of marijuana, in both instances from California to Huntington. Bills provided the marijuana to Toney in Huntington for Toney and others to distribute. 

Toney was sentenced to 10 years and three months in federal prison in January 2017, after pleading guilty to distributing heroin. Toney admitted that he conspired with others to distribute large quantities of drugs in the Huntington and Charleston areas, including heroin, crack, marijuana, and Xanax.

These prosecutions arose out of a long-term investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the West Virginia State Police, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Huntington Police Department, the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force, the Ohio Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

In addition to Bills and Toney, eight other defendants have been convicted for their roles in this drug ring. Sean Lee Braggs, Samuel E. Nelson, III, Deandra Sheen Jones, and Atari Seantay Brown have all pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and are awaiting sentencing. Arthur James Canada was sentenced to three years and 10 months in federal prison, Matthew Michael Meadows was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison, Parker Wyatt Mays was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, and Tanisha Lynette Wooding was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison for their respective roles in the conspiracy.

Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is in charge of the prosecutions. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence and is presiding over these cases.

These cases are 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 illegal drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.

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