Appleton Sold Cocaine, Ecstasy and Heroin at Newman’s Direction
Huntington, W.Va. - United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Brandon Jay Appleton, 25, of Belle, West Virginia, was sentenced today in federal court in Huntington to 33 months of imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and MDMA, commonly known as “Molly" or “Ecstasy." On Jan. 20, 2014, investigators working with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted a search at 1814 Artisan Avenue, Huntington, West Virginia - the residence of Kenneth Dewitt Newman. At the time of the search, Appleton, who was in the residence, had a bag filled with smaller bags of MDMA and cocaine that he intended to sell. Appleton was one of several defendants who pled guilty following an investigation of Newman and his associates for distributing illegal drugs in the Huntington area. Phone calls intercepted during the course of the Newman investigation revealed that Appleton sold drugs, including cocaine, MDMA and heroin, at Newman’s direction.
In addition to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Huntington Police Department, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives actively participated in the investigation. The 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 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
