Drug Charges Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. Stiffens Penalties For Fentanyl Distribution

On Thursday, Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 536 into law, increasing fines and prison time for drug traffickers distributing the deadly opioid fentanyl in West Virginia.

Jeff Sandy, secretary for the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, said the harsher punishment will put a real fear into out- of-state drug dealers.

“What this bill does is this, someone from Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, they bring drugs across the bridge into West Virginia,” Sandy said. “Their sentences are going to be more than doubled.”

The new law also increases fines and prison time for any adult involving a minor in fentanyl distribution.

This week, the CDC announced that fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for American adults 18-45 years old.

Former Pratt Mayor Given Probation for Drug Charges

A former West Virginia mayor has been given probation after he was charged with selling prescription pills.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports a federal judge sentenced former Pratt Mayor Gary Allen Fields on Thursday to three years of probation, as part of a plea agreement Fields had made with prosecutors.

Sixty-eight-year-old Fields had previously pleaded guilty in Charleston to distribution of oxycodone after he admitted to selling the pills to a Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office informant in April 2015.

He was indicted in June, about a week before he lost his re-election bid.

After two previous arrests in 2013 and 2014, residents petitioned for Fields’ removal from office. In 2014, a three-judge panel appointed by the state Supreme Court rejected the petition, deciding not to remove him from office.

West Virginia Doctor Pleads Guilty in Drug, Health Care Fraud Case

Update Thursday Jan. 7 at 11:47 a.m.:

A Beckley pain clinic doctor has pleaded guilty to illegally prescribing a controlled substance and submitting false health care claims.

Jose Gordinho entered the plea Thursday in federal court in Beckley.

Gordinho faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine, along with restitution to Medicare and Medicaid.

Sentencing has been set for April 26.

Under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Gordinho will no longer be allowed to prescribe controlled substances.

Gordinho was indicted in November on 21 counts of distributing controlled substances that were not for legitimate medical purposes. His guilty plea involved prescribing hydrocodone.

He also admitted to submitting false claims for services that were not medically necessary.

Original:

A Beckley pain clinic doctor who is due in federal court on drug distribution charges is now also facing health care fraud charges.

Jose Gordinho was charged Wednesday with attempting to defraud Medicare and Medicaid.

The new counts were filed ahead of Gordinho’s scheduled plea hearing Thursday on the original charges. Gordinho was indicted in November on 21 counts of distributing oxycodone, morphine and other controlled substances that were not for legitimate medical purposes. A trial was originally set for next Monday.

Mike Hissam, an attorney for Gordinho, declined to comment on the new charges when contacted by The Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Gov. Tomblin's Brother Sentenced for Drug Charges

The brother of West Virginia’s governor has been sentenced to eight months of home confinement and three years of probation for federal drug charges.Fifty-year-old Carl Tomblin of Chapmanville received the sentence Wednesday in federal court in Charleston.

Tomblin pleaded guilty in March to distributing the painkiller oxymorphone.

Federal prosecutors say Tomblin sold oxymorphone to a confidential police informant on five occasions in December 2013 and January 2014. He also admitted that he bought and distributed oxymorphone for about eight months prior to January 2014.

Tomblin is the brother of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

When Carl Tomblin was charged in February, the governor said his brother was dealing with drug addiction and needed help, but must be held accountable for his actions.

W.Va. Governor's Brother Seeks Lesser Sentence to Drug Charges

The brother of West Virginia’s governor is seeking a lesser or alternative sentence after pleading guilty to a federal drug charge.

Fifty-year-old Carl Tomblin of Chapmanville pleaded guilty in March to distribution of oxymorphone.

Federal prosecutors say Tomblin sold the prescription painkiller to a confidential informant on five occasions in December 2013.

He faces up to 20 years in prison. But the Charleston Daily Mail reports that Tomblin’s attorney filed a sentencing memorandum this week.

Attorney Robert Kuenzel asked the court to impose a lesser or alternative sentence, specifically mentioning home confinement.

Tomblin is the brother of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

When Carl Tomblin was charged in February, the governor said his brother was dealing with drug addiction and needed help, but must be held accountable for his actions.

Bridgeport Mayor Indicted on Federal Drug Charges

Bridgeport Mayor Mario Blount has been indicted on federal drug charges. U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II says the 51-year-old Blount was arrested Tuesday.

Blount is charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute schedule II controlled substances, distribution of oxycodone and failure to report the filling of a prescription.

The mayor, who is the owner of multiple Best Care Pharmacies, is accused of illegally dispensing more than 11,000 oxycodone and oxymorphone pills over a period of about three years.

The grand jury also charged two other people with conspiring with Blount.

Messages left at his Bridgeport home were not returned.