ABINGDON, Va. — Two people pleaded guilty in federal court this week to conspiring to distribute meth in Wise County.

Randall Neil Peaks, 53, entered a guilty plea on Wednesday and Elizabeth Ann Sexton, 36, pleaded guilty on Friday.

Both had been charged with conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of meth. Peaks pleaded guilty to that charge, while Sexton pleaded guilty to a lesser charge involving more than 50 grams.

Peaks now faces a potential life sentence, while Sexton faces up to 40 years.

Both are being held in the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail at Abingdon. Sentencing dates have not yet been set.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Floyd County man who was indicted on armed drug trafficking charges earlier this year will remain behind bars while he awaits a resolution to his case.

David Lee Ousley, 44, of Martin, was arrested Jan. 15, after Kentucky State Police raided his home and seized nearly three-quarters of a pound of meth, 7 lbs. of marijuana, an assortment of pills, more than $6,700 in cash and more than 30 guns.

A week later, his case was bumped up to federal court, when he was indicted for conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of meth, possession of more than 50 grams of meth with the intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in a drug-trafficking crime. If convicted, he could face a minimum of 15 years in prison, up to a maximum of two consecutive life sentences.

His attorney requested a detention hearing to see if he could qualify for release on bail. That hearing was held Tuesday in Frankfort federal court, and on Wednesday, a federal magistrate ruled that Ousley would remain in jail.

In his detention order, the judge concluded there were no pretrial release conditions he could set that would guarantee the safety of the community, due to the seriousness of the charges, Ousley’s likelihood of reoffending, and his history of violence, substance abuse and mental illness.

Ousley is currently being held in the Grayson County Detention Center. His trial has been set for June 11.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Huntington, W.Va., man has entered a guilty plea to a federal drug charge, after he was caught bringing a shipment of fentanyl to Pike County.

Donte Hendricks, 30, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lexington federal court to one count of possession of more than 40 grams of fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

The case arose out of a traffic stop last year. Pikeville Police had received a tip that Hendricks would be bringing a large amount of fentanyl to the area. The tip included a description of the man and his car, so police were able to locate him and pull him over on Ratliff’s Creek Road on Feb. 26, 2025.

After he was stopped, Pikeville Police asked the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office to bring in a K-9 to sniff around the car. That resulted in the seizure of 103.6 grams of fentanyl and $917 in cash.

Hendricks had asked that the evidence from the stop should be tossed out, arguing that police did not have reasonable suspicion to stop him or to extend the traffic stop to allow the drug dog to be brought to the scene.

The court ruled against that request in December, but Hendricks’ plea agreement leaves open the door for him to appeal that denial. If an appeals court agrees to suppress the evidence, he will be allowed to withdraw his plea.

Hendricks will be sentenced Aug. 6 in Lexington, when he will face 5-to-40 years in prison.

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SALYERSVILLE, Ky. — A Magoffin County deputy who spotted a wanted man on an ATV Monday ended up taking him and his passenger to jail on drug trafficking charges.

The deputy was returning from another call around 8 p.m. Monday, when he spotted John Riley Montgomery, 46, and Corrina Joann Ratliff, 45, both of Salyersville, sitting on an ATV next to Route 378. The deputy knew Montgomery to be wanted on outstanding warrants, so he stopped to tell him he would have to take him in.

As the officer was taking him to the front of his police car to search him, he said he saw Montgomery throw a bag into a nearby ditch. The deputy immediately cuffed him and called in backup to help him search for the thrown item.

Following a search of the bag, the ATV and both occupants, police found three bags containing more than 32 grams of meth combined, a bottle of 66 hydrocodone and various types of paraphernalia.

Both Montgomery and Ratliff were arrested and charged with trafficking in meth and opiates trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia. Montgomery was also charged with marijuana possession and persistent felony offender.

Both were lodged in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — A former Paintsville doctor has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison, after he pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge.

Don Bryson pleaded guilty in June 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute Schedule II controlled substances.

Bryson was previously a doctor, but surrendered his medical license following an investigation into his prescribing of controlled substances. Afterwards, he began working as a “medical consultant” at Appalachian Family Medicine, a clinic owned by his son, Jeremy Bryson.

With his guilty plea, Don Bryson admitted that even though the clinic would bring in doctors to see patients, he and his son maintained control of the practice, restricting the use of urine tests or pill counts and discouraging the doctors from reducing the patient dosages. They also allowed a doctor who didn’t have a DEA registration number required to prescribe controlled substances to illegally use the registration number of another doctor.

Over a four-day period, the doctor wrote 79 prescriptions for more than 6,900 pills using the previous doctor’s registration number, until the temp agency discovered what was happening.

Don Bryson’s sentence of one year and one day is far less than the maximum 20 years he could have received. He has also agreed to forfeit more than $124,000 seized from the clinic’s bank accounts, as well as the clinic building and a 2020 Dodge Ram truck purchased with clinic proceeds.

Don Bryson currently remains free. He has been ordered to self-report to prison July 14.

Jeremy Bryson was later charged in connection with the clinic. In March, a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to use the DEA registration of another, monetary transaction derived from unlawful activity and six counts of distributing controlled substances, following an eight-day trial in Frankfort. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 2.

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BELFRY, Ky. — A complaint about squatters resulted in two people being arrested on burglary charges.
And one of them was later charged with drug trafficking after being found with meth and fentanyl at the jail.

Police were called to Cow Branch Road at Belfry Wednesday evening over a report of people staying in a vacant home without permission.

There, they encountered Vangie Thacker, 52, on the front porch and could hear a man and woman arguing inside. When they went inside to investigate, the man and woman ran away and couldn’t be located.

Thacker told police she had been staying in the home a few days because she had nowhere else to go and she had been told it was owned by someone in her family. She was arrested on a charge of third-degree burglary.

Police went back to the house early Thursday morning to see if the two people who had fled had returned and found Donique Mitchem, 41, hiding in a closet.

She told police she and her boyfriend had fled earlier because they thought someone was coming to kill them. She also said Thacker had said the home was hers and was letting them stay there. She was also arrested for third-degree burglary as well as fleeing police.

During a search at the jail, she was found with two bags containing an ounce of fentanyl each and another bag containing half an ounce of meth. She was additionally charged with meth and fentanyl trafficking and promoting contraband.

Both women remain in the Pike County Detention Center.

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Area high school students learn about mental health, drugs, crisis intervention and more.

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LONDON, Ky. — Two of the five people arrested in a pair of drug raids last month have now seen their cases moved up to federal court.

Pikeville Police executed a pair of search warrants early on the morning of March 8, where they arrested five people after seizing drugs, guns, cash and drug paraphernalia.

Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Wayne Buzard, 57, of Zebulon Highway, and Cathy McKinney, 53, of Island Creek, on charges of conspiracy to distribute meth and possession of meth with the intent to distribute. Buzard is also charged with using a gun in a drug trafficking crime, while McKinney is charged with three counts of distributing meth.

The conspiracy charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to 40 years, while the remaining drug charges are punishable by up to 20 years. The gun charge against Buzard could see him looking at the longest potential sentence, as it carries a potential penalty of between 5 years and life in prison, and must be served consecutive to any other sentence he receives.

Both are being held in the Pike County Detention Center. They are scheduled to appear in London federal court May 28.

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ASHLAND, Ky. — Two Magoffin County men are now under federal indictment, less than a month after they were arrested following a drug raid.

Eddie McFarland, 34, of Lakeville, and Anthony Darrell Saylor, 38, of Salyersville, were each indicted for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distributing controlled substances.

McFarland is also charged with using a gun in a drug trafficking crime and Saylor is also charged with possession with the intent to distribute.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Magoffin County Sheriff’s Office, which conducted several undercover buys.

During their search of McFarland’s home last month, officers reported seizing a substantial amount of meth, fentanyl and heroin, along with guns, methadone and trafficking paraphernalia.

Each of the charges carries a variety of potential sentences, ranging from five years to life in prison.

No hearings have yet been set in the case.

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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Efforts by Pikeville Police to find an Ohio fugitive resulted in officers finding the suspect as well as an assortment of drugs.

Pikeville Police and a U.S. Marshals Task Force had a information that Dennis Washington, 51, of Columbus, Ohio, could be located at an apartment on Hambley Boulevard and went to locate him April 14. Washington was wanted in Columbus for multiple counts of drug trafficking and possession.

When they arrived at the apartment, they found Daryl Adkins, 58, of Pikeville, sitting outside. When they showed him a picture of Washington and asked if he knew where he was, he said he didn’t recognize him but would let them know if he saw him.

Police later learned from the apartment owner that Washington was in the apartment and officers soon placed him under arrest. While doing so, they spotted a glass pipe nearby, and used that information to obtain a search warrant for the apartment.

That search turned up two gallon-size plastic bags of meth hidden in the washer and dryer, multiple bags of fentanyl, some crack cocaine and six oxycodone tablets.

Washington also let the officers know that Adkins had let him know that police were looking for him.

Washington, Adkins and Lashawn Walker, 51, of Columbus, who was also in the apartment, were all arrested and charged with meth and cocaine trafficking, aggravated fentanyl trafficking and drug possession. Adkins was also charged with hindering prosecution for lying to police, as well as promoting contraband and fentanyl possession when jail staff found a bag of the drug hidden in his jeans.

All three remain in the Pike County jail.

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