BECKLEY, W.Va. - United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that three Beckley area men were sentenced in federal court in Beckley. Melvin Brooks, age 42, of Beaver, West Virginia, was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. Brooks previously pled guilty in March 2014 to distribution of a quantity of oxycodone to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Beaver Avenue in Beckley.
Ronnie Tolliver, age 57, of MacArthur, West Virginia, was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment. Tolliver previously pled guilty in March 2014 to distribution of a quantity of hydromorphone to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Bethel Road in MacArthur.
Joseph Underwood, age 39, of Stanaford, West Virginia, was also sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment. Underwood previously pled guilty in April 2014 to distribution of a quantity of oxycodone to a person cooperating with law enforcement authorities. The drug deal took place on Cunningham Avenue in Stanaford.
All three cases were investigated by the Beckley Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and are being prosecuted under the Beckley Pill Initiative directed by the United States Attorney’s Office.
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 pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
All three defendants were sentenced by United States District Court Judge Irene C. Berger.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
