Kentucky Man Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine Charge

ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – A Kentucky man, who was part of a multi-defendant conspiracy to traffic a potent form of methamphetamine from Texas into Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, pled guilty today to a federal drug charge, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced.

George Allen Bowling, 46, of Manchester, Kentucky, pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute Ice methamphetamine.

“The United States Attorney’s Office is proud to work with our partners on the local and state levels to continue to fight the scourge of methamphetamine trafficking throughout our region,” United States Attorney Fishwick said today. “This drug is a highly addictive and often deadly substance that we are working every day to address in our communities.”

To date, the investigation of this conspiracy has resulted in more than a dozen federal convictions in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, including three methamphetamine suppliers from Texas, who pled guilty earlier this year.

According to evidence presented at previous hearings, during the course of the conspiracy, various persons from Eastern Kentucky and Southwest Virginia traveled to Texas to purchase methamphetamine and subsequently transport it back via interstate highways, to avoid law enforcement detection along the way. Once the methamphetamine arrived in Kentucky and Virginia, it would be distributed by others, including Bowling. 

The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; United States Drug Enforcement Administration; Virginia State Police; Kentucky State Police; Harris County, Texas Sherriff’s Office, and Russell County, Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.  Special Assistant United States Attorney and Russell County Commonwealth Attorney Brian Patton, Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Jayne and Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee prosecuted the case for the United States.