ABINGDON, Va. — A Wise County man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, following his conviction armed meth trafficking charges.

A federal jury found Rodney Allen Pickett, 52, of Coeburn, guilty of five counts related to distributing meth and three gun charges.

Authorities say Pickett purchased multiple pounds of meth weekly from a source and sold it to other dealers and users from August of 2022 to March of 2023. After he sold meth to an undercover informant on three occasions in early 2023, police raided his home, seizing more than a pound of meth in the process.

In a judgment entered into the record on Thursday, he was sentenced to 180 months for most of the charges. But a 60-month sentence for using a gun in a drug trafficking crime is required to be added to time for any other charges, bringing him to a total of 20 years in prison, which was the mandatory minimum sentence for the charges.

Pickett has since filed an appeal in the case.