PIKEVILLE – A Magoffin County man took a plea deal in federal court on Tuesday, February 13, pleading guilty to distributing a quantity of oxycodone.
Steve Owens, representing Gregory Howard, 51, of Salyersville, motioned last Thursday for a rearrraignment hearing, which was then set for Tuesday, indicating they had come to an agreement with the U.S, Attorney’s office.
Howard entered a guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins in Pikeville federal court, waiving his right to rearraignment in the presence of a U.S. District Judge and consenting to the magistrate judge accepting the plea. Judge Atkins entered a recommendation that Howard’s guilty plea be accepted and he be adjudged guilty.
Within the signed agreement, Howard pleaded guilty to Count 17 of the indictment, which was a charge of distributing a quantity of pills containing oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance.
Andrew Trimble, with the U.S. Attorney’s office agreed to motion to dismiss the other charges against Howard at sentencing, now set for May 23, 2024, at 11 a.m. in Lexington federal court.
According to the plea deal, Howard agreed that he knowingly and intentionally distributed pills containing oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, and that he knew at the time of distribution that the substance was a controlled substance.
The U.S. argues that they could prove the following facts that establish the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt:
– Between, on or about March 2022 and August 17, 2023, Howard regularly obtained oxycodone polls from multiple suppliers and worked together with others to distribute those polls in Magoffin County. Sometimes Howard would use an associate to deliver the pills, while at other times he would reportedly sell them directly from his home on Bloomington Road.
– On or about August 3, 2023, law enforcement used a confidential informant to make a controlled purchase of oxycodone polls from Howard at his residence, with the informant paying $520 to Howard and Howard providing the informant with about four oxycodone 20 mg tablets and about one oxycodone 30 mg tablet. During the transaction, Howard reportedly told the informant he had a “couple hundred oxycodone 20 mg and 30 mg pills, but that amount was not for him.”
– The controlled purchase on August 3, 2023, was one of 13 controlled buys that law enforcement made from Howard at his residence. Police also made three controlled purchase from Howard’s associate, two of which also occurred at Howard’s residence.
– Between March 2022 and August 2023, law enforcement searched Howard’s home twice, with police seizing $14,540 during one raid, and $23,170 during the second, with the currency seized in both instances belonging to Howard and was the proceeds from the distribution of oxycodone.
According to the plea agreement, the statutory punishment for the offense is imprisonment of not more than 20 years, a fine of not more than $1 million, and a term of supervised release of at least three years. A mandatory special assessment of $100 applies, and Howard agreed to pay this assessment during the rearraignment hearing.
No agreement exists between Howard and the U.S. regarding his criminal history and how it pertains to his sentencing, and Howard will not file a motion for a decrease in the offense level, also waiving the right to appeal, according to the plea agreement.
At press time, Jesse Murrell, 53, also of Salyersville and Howard’s co-defendant, is still set for a jury trial on February 26, 24, at 9 a.m. before Judge Karen K. Caldwell in Pikeville, Kentucky. The jury trial against Howard has been canceled, with his sentencing hearing set for May 23 at 11 a.m. in Lexington.
Murrell is charged with three counts of distribution of controlled substances containing oxycodone, all from specific dates surrounding individual controlled buys that occurred in May through August 2023.
Each of the 17 charges included in the indictment carry a potential penalty of not more than 20 years imprisonment, not more than a $1 million fine, and at least three years supervised release. If a defendant has a prior felony drug offense, which Greg Howard does, the penalty raises to not more than 30 years imprisonment, not more than a $2 million fine, and at least 6 years supervised release.
At time of the indictment, Greg Howard was on probation for a 2017 conviction on the charge of possession with intent to distribute a quantity of pills containing hydrocodone. In December 2017, Howard was sentenced (via a plea deal) to 36 months in prison, running concurrently with the 12 months he received for violating probation in his 2013 federal drug case, as well as six years of probation, running concurrently with three years he received for violating his probation in the earlier case.
Howard remains in custody at the Pike County Detention Center and Murrell is currently out on bond.
Editor’s Note: The indictment or charge of a person by a grand jury or otherwise is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
