BECKLEY, W.Va. - United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Kristi Ball, 39, of Princeton, West Virginia, pled guilty in federal court in Bluefield to distributing hydromorphone, a powerful and addictive prescription pain medication. Ball admitted that on Jan. 16, 2013, she sold three hydromorphone pills to a person who was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place in Princeton.
Ball faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber scheduled the sentencing for May 27, 2014.
The West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney John File is handling the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as 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. 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
