PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Prosecutors say the patriarch of a Floyd County family operated “basically a convenience store for controlled substances” from his residence on top of Abner Mountain.
Today, that man — Jeffrey Isaac, 61, of Melvin — sat in a federal courtroom as a judge sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
A jury found Isaac guilty in February of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime.
Prosecutors and the judge expressed sympathy for Isaac’s history of abuse as a child, which forced him to leave home at age 11 and live on the streets of Detroit, eventually obtaining work in a factory at age 13.
And they said he overcame that rough start in life by working to take care of his family and others. But after a disability left him unable to work and provide for his family, they say he turned to drug dealing instead.
Isaac’s sentence includes seven years for the drug charge, and a mandatory five years for the gun charge, which must be served in addition to the drug sentence.
