Two Bluefield men appear in federal court on drug charges

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Marvin Gillespie, 62, of Bluefield, West Virginia, was sentenced to six months in federal prison.

Gillespie pleaded guilty in September 2014, to distribution of hydromorphone. He admitted that on Feb. 6, 2014, he distributed two hydromorphone pills to a confidential informant in Bluefield.

The case was investigated by the Southern West Virginia Drug and Violent Crime Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney John J. File was in charge of the prosecution.

Goodwin also announced that Samuel Miller, 60, of Bluefield, pleaded guilty to distribution of hydromorphone. Miller admitted that on Aug. 28, 2014, he distributed hydromorphone pills to a confidential informant in Bluefield.

Miller faces up to 20 years in federal prison, and a $1 million fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28, 2015.

The case is being investigated by the Southern West Virginia Drug and Violent Crime Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney John J. File is in charge of the prosecution.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over both cases.

Both cases are part of the Bluefield Pill Initiative, one component 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.

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