HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Kenneth Dewitt Newman, 32, of Huntington, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
In May 2014, Newman, also known as “K-Kutta," pleaded guilty to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. He also pleaded guilty in October 2014 to possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. On Jan. 20, 2014, Drug Enforcement Administration agents conducted a search of Newman’s residence in the 1800 block of Artisan Ave. in Huntington. During the search, agents located and seized cocaine, oxycodone, heroin, MDMA and marijuana, which Newman admitted he intended to sell. He further admitted that from 2010 to 2014, he, with the aid of others, sold drugs from his home, and that he possessed a firearm to help facilitate their distribution.
Newman received five years in federal prison for each charge to which he pleaded guilty, to run consecutively for a total of 10 years.
Newman, his brother George Antonio Newman, their mother Darlene Newman and 12 others were indicted for their various roles in the drug distribution conspiracy. The charges against Newman and his associates arose out of a long-term investigation led by the DEA, Huntington Police Department and Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team.
Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Huntington Police Department were in charge of the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Greg McVey was in charge of 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 and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement, 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
