CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A former Huttonsville Correctional Center guard and the mother of a Huttonsville inmate were sentenced to federal prison for drug crimes, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Mark Steven Taylor, 40, of Richwood, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin. Pamela Gail Adkins, 44, of Oak Hill, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for distribution of methamphetamine and heroin.
“Sad and so tragic," said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Since becoming United States Attorney, I’ve had many parents tell me they feel a sense of relief when their son or daughter is arrested because at least while incarcerated they won’t have access to drugs. Not Adkins. She wanted deadly meth and heroin delivered to her incarcerated son. And Taylor, a correctional officer who is supposed to uphold the law, totally betrayed public trust to make a little money on the side by smuggling drugs into the prison. Their drug smuggling scheme has them both headed to federal prison."
Taylor previously admitted that on Feb. 26, 2019, while employed as a Corrections Officer at the Huttonsville Correctional Center, Adkins gave him quantities of methamphetamine and heroin to smuggle into the prison. He further admitted that she paid him $500, and that he had smuggled drugs into Huttonsville on one prior occasion. Adkins admitted giving Taylor the drugs and paying him to smuggle them into the prison where her son was incarcerated.
After being alerted to the scheme by Huttonsville Correctional Center Investigators, members of the Central West Virginia Drug Task Force set up surveillance in Craigsville where they observed Adkins give Taylor the package containing methamphetamine and heroin. Task force officers arrested Taylor after finding him in possession of the drugs at the scene of the transaction. They arrested Adkins in a traffic stop a short distance away.
The Huttonsville Correctional Center and the Central West Virginia Drug Task Force conducted the investigation. Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua C. Hanks handled the prosecution.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
