Press Release
Ohio Man With Loaded Pistol And Prescription Pills Pleads Guilty To Federal Charge
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of West Virginia
BECKLEY, W.Va. – An Ohio man who possessed a loaded pistol and powerful prescription pain pills in January 2013 pleaded guilty today to a federal charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Thomas William Dyer, Jr., 56, of Bloomingburg, Ohio, entered a guilty plea to carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime before U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger. On January 20, Dyer possessed a loaded .38 caliber pistol and oxycodone pills at a residence located near New Richmond, Wyoming County, W.Va.
Dyer was arrested following a controlled drug buy that took place in and around New Richmond. During a search, police also found a total of six firearms and 130 oxycodone pills at a residence located near New Richmond.
Dyer faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life in prison when he is sentenced on November 14, 2013.
The Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting 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.
Updated January 7, 2015
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