An Ashland resident, Phillip Conley, 28, has been sentenced to 180 months in prison for drug and firearm-related offenses. Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning delivered the sentence on Monday. Conley was found guilty of possessing with intent to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The Northeast Kentucky Drug Task Force initiated an investigation into Conley's activities in February 2024. A search warrant executed at his residence on April 4, 2024, uncovered 57.6 grams of fentanyl, two firearms, and ammunition. Conley confessed to intending to distribute the fentanyl and acknowledged his illegal possession of firearms as a convicted felon.
Previously convicted for first-degree trafficking in controlled substances by Boyd Circuit Court in May 2017, Conley is required under federal law to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence. Following his release from prison, he will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for eight years.
Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, along with John Nokes from ATF's Louisville Field Division announced the sentencing jointly. The case was investigated by ATF and Northeast Kentucky Drug Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Rieker.
This prosecution falls under the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which aims to reduce violent crime through comprehensive public safety strategies involving investigation, prosecution, prevention, and reentry efforts coordinated by Acting U.S. Attorney McCaffrey with various law enforcement agencies.
