Two men sentenced to Federal prison for drug crimes

BECKLEY, W.Va. – Two men were sentenced to prison today for federal drug crimes, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto.

Ronald Ray McMillion, 64, of Renick in Greenbrier County, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for a crime involving the distribution of oxycodone, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. McMillion previously pleaded guilty to interstate travel to facilitate an unlawful activity. McMillion admitted that in February 2014, he traveled from Renick to the Baltimore area to obtain oxycodone pills, and that he then traveled back to Renick and sold some of the pills. He further admitted that he had sold oxycodone in Greenbrier County on other occasions, and that he possessed a firearm while receiving payment for a drug debt.   

In a separate drug prosecution, Nicholas Thomas Novak, 33, of Brentwood, New York, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin. Novak previously pleaded guilty and admitted that on September 22, 2015, he possessed approximately 150 stamps or packets of heroin at a residence in Frankford in Greenbrier County. Novak further admitted that he brought the heroin to Greenbrier County for distribution. 

The McMillion case was investigated by the West Virginia State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Greenbrier Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigated the Novak case under the Greenbrier Valley Heroin and Pill Initiative. Assistant United States Attorney John File is handling the prosecutions. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentences.

These prosecutions are 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 and heroin. 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 and heroin in communities across the Southern District. 

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