Head Of Newman Drug Ring Pleads Guilty In Huntington
Huntington - , W.Va. - Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Washington Field Division and United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Kenneth Dewitt Newman, also known as “K-Kutta,” 32, of Huntington pleaded guilty today in federal court in Huntington to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, oxycodone, heroin, (commonly known as Ecstasy) and marijuana. Newman, his brother, George Antonio Newman, their mother, Darlene Newman, and 12 others were indicted for their various roles in the drug distribution conspiracy. Newman and the others sold various types of controlled substances from his home at 1814 Artisan Avenue in Huntington and in the surrounding area from at least 2010 through January of 2014. In January of 2014, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted a search of Newman’s home and seized cocaine, oxycodone, heroin, MDMA and marijuana.
The charges against Newman and his associates arose out of a long term investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, and the Huntington Police Department. George Newman, Ariell Varney, William Isiah Petties, Kamel Burris, and Brandon Appleton have all pleaded guilty to various charges arising from the Newman investigation. Other defendants are awaiting trial currently set for the end of July. Newman faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on August 25, 2014.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
