Huntington W.Va - United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that William Petties, 33, of Huntington, West Virginia, was sentenced in federal court in Huntington to three years and ten months in federal prison on a charge of felon in possession of a firearm. On Jan. 20, 2014, agents with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration searched the home of Petties’ girlfriend at 1130 28th Street in Huntington. Petties, who regularly stayed at the home, was outside when agents arrived with the search warrant. The search uncovered a loaded Springfield.40 caliber pistol, which was owned by Petties’ girlfriend, but which Petties admitted he jointly possessed and controlled. Petties was convicted in 2000 of aggravated robbery and is prohibited from possessing any firearm.
Petties is a former member of the drug trafficking organization operated by Kenneth Dewitt Newman, also known as “K-Kutta." The investigation of the Newman Organization established that Newman, along with others, distributed cocaine, heroin, MDMA, marijuana, and prescription pills in the Huntington area.
This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and 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 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
