HUNTINGTON  —  A 43-year-old man admitted his involvement in an operation that distributed heroin in Huntington between September 2005 to Feb. 20, 2008, and was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers.  Rodney Johnson of Huntington received 63 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin. He had pleaded guilty in September.

The conviction stems from a joint investigation conducted by the Huntington Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, West Virginia State Police, Huntington Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department.

He was one of five people indicted in a five-count indictment that included Victor Hardaway, 40, of Detroit; William Caudill, 25, of Huntington; Brian Freeman; and Kim LaGrand, 34, Huntington.
The indictment was part of a massive heroin investigation. It resulted in criminal charges against several defendants and tracked the local heroin trade to Mexico.

Brenda Kay Newton, also known as Brenda Kay Mills, 52, of Huntington, was sentenced by Judge Chambers to six months home confinement and five years probation, and ordered to pay $59,245 in restitution for theft of public money. Newton previously pled guilty in September, admitting that from February 2000 to June 2007, she stole benefits which she was not entitled to receive from the United States Railroad Retirement Board.

Specifically, Newton fraudulently cashed USRRB checks made payable to a deceased relative who was entitled to the benefits until her death in January 2000. At sentencing, Judge Chambers noted, “The public needs to know this type of crime will not be tolerated,” and that Newton’s ill health was one key factor preventing the Judge from sentencing Newton to prison.

This case was prosecuted as part of the United States Attorney’s Initiative to Combat Theft of Government Benefits launched in June 2008. The Initiative is designed to protect public funds and to prosecute those who steal benefits from public programs or agencies such as the U.S. Veterans Administration, Social Security Administration, and as in  his case, the Railroad Retirement Board.

The Office of Inspect or General, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, conducted the investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes.

 

National Video