HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - A Huntington woman pled guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Lorie A. Mayhon, 43, entered her guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. U.S. Attorney Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the West Virginia State Police.
“We’re working every day with law enforcement in Huntington to get pain pills off the streets," said U.S. Attorney Stuart. “Pill pushers need to understand that there’s nothing but hard time waiting for those who try to sell their poison in our communities."
Mayhon admitted that on Sept. 15, 2017, she assisted in arranging the sale of oxycodone pills to a confidential informant working with the DEA. The drug deal was scheduled to take place at a residence on Collis Avenue in Huntington, where the informant met with Mayhon and codefendants Joseph Melbar and Curtis Holcomb to complete the transaction. After discussing the terms of the deal - 500 oxycodone pills in exchange for $20,000 cash, Mayhon and Holcomb left Melbar’s residence to pick up another codefendant to acquire the pills. After the codefendants picked up the pills, a trooper with the West Virginia State Police conducted a traffic stop on their vehicle on Artisan Avenue in Huntington. During the stop, the trooper seized 454 thirty mg oxycodone pills that Holcomb had concealed in his sock.
Mayhon faces up to 20 years in federal prison when she is sentenced on June 4, 2018. Both Melbar and Holcomb previously pled guilty for their roles in the conspiracy and each faces up to 20 years in prison. Melbar is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2018. Holcomb is scheduled to be sentenced on May 7, 2018.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is responsible for the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
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 agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
