Three defendants sentenced on Federal drug charges in Bluefield

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that three defendants were sentenced on drug charges in federal court in Bluefield, West Virginia.

Aree Lumpkins, 20, of Princeton, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for using a telephone to arrange for the distribution of hydromorphone. Lumpkins pleaded guilty in July, and admitted that on October 30, 2014, he used a telephone in Bluefield to help set up a drug deal with an informant. Later that day Lumpkins completed the drug deal, and Lumpkins admitted that he distributed drugs to the informant on several other occasions.

Craig Arnold Young, 42, of Lashmeet, was sentenced to one year and one month in federal prison for using a telephone to arrange a drug deal involving hydromorphone. He pleaded guilty in July, admitting that on December 16, 2014, he used a telephone in or near Lashmeet to help carry out a drug transaction with an informant. Shortly after that telephone conversation, Young met with the informant to finish the drug deal. Young further admitted that he had distributed a total of 255 hydromorphone pills over time.

Lumpkins and Young were investigated by the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force under the Bluefield Pill Initiative. Assistant United States Attorney John File handled the prosecution of these cases. The Bluefield Pill Initiative is a collaborative, multi-agency regional law enforcement effort designed to halt prescription drug trafficking in Mercer, McDowell, and Wyoming counties. The Bluefield Pill Initiative is led by the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, which includes the West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation; the Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming County Sheriff’s Departments; and the Bluefield and Princeton Police Departments.

Another defendant, Antonio Padgett, 36, of Welch, was sentenced to two years and three months in federal prison for crack distribution. Padgett pleaded guilty in July, admitting that on March 16, 2011, he distributed about five grams of crack to an informant in Welch. Padgett further admitted that he was involved in additional crack deals. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, the West Virginia State Police, and the McDowell County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney John Frail handled the prosecution.

These cases were all prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat illegal drugs in our communities, including 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 drug trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and other drugs in communities across the Southern District.

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