Huntington Woman Pleads Guilty To Pain Pill Conspiracy
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - A Huntington woman pleaded guilty to a federal drug crime, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge D. Christopher Evans. Lorie A. Mayhon, 43, entered her guilty plea for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. Special Agent in Charge Evans commends the investigative efforts of the West Virginia State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“The law enforcement community understands the value in standing together to combat the continuous threat of this opioid crisis and the devastation it causes,” said Special Agent in Charge Evans. “Our focus will be to continue targeting those drug trafficking organizations looking to sell their poison in our communities.”
Mayhon admitted on September 15, 2017, she assisted in arranging the sale of oxycodone pills to a confidential informant working with the DEA. The drug deal was scheduled to take place at a residence on Collis Avenue in Huntington, where the informant met with Mayhon and codefendants, Joseph Melbar and Curtis Holcomb, to complete the transaction. After discussing the terms of the deal - 500 oxycodone pills in exchange for $20,000 cash - Mayhon and Holcomb left Melbar’s residence to pick up another codefendant to acquire the pills. After the codefendants picked up the pills, a trooper with the West Virginia State Police conducted a traffic stop on their vehicle on Artisan Avenue in Huntington. During the stop, the trooper seized 454 30 mg oxycodone pills that Holcomb had concealed in his sock.
Mayhon faces up to 20 years in federal prison when she is sentenced on June 4, 2018. Both Melbar and Holcomb previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy and each face up to 20 years in prison. Melbar is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2018. Holcomb is scheduled to be sentenced on May 7, 2018.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is responsible for the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
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.
