Two Mercer County Men Appear In Federal Court On Drug Charges

Bluefield, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Michael Devon Harmon, 36, of Princeton, was sentenced today in federal court in Bluefield to 9 years in federal prison for distribution of hydromorphone.  Harmon pled guilty in May of 2014, admitting that on July 24, 2013, he sold two hydromorphone pills to a confidential informant in Princeton.  Harmon also admitted that in addition to hydromorphone, he distributed cocaine base and cocaine to the informant during the summer of 2013. 

Marvin Gillespie, 62, of Bluefield, also appeared in federal court in Bluefield and pled guilty to distribution of hydromorphone.  Gillespie admitted that on February 6, 2014, he sold two hydromorphone pills to a confidential informant in Bluefield.  Gillespie faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine when he is sentenced on January 27, 2015.

These cases were investigated by the Southern West Virginia Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorney John File handled the prosecution.  These cases 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.