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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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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LONDON, Ky. — A Pike County man charged with possession of child porn back in February has now seen his case bumped up to federal court.

Terry Weston Rogers, 29, of Pikeville, was arrested Feb. 26 after police discovered more than 1,000 images of child porn on his phone.

He now faces a federal charge of possession of child porn, the same charge he faced in Pike Circuit Court. The key difference between the two cases is that his potential sentence in the state case would have topped out at 10 years, but the federal penalty can be twice as long.

Rogers had been held in the Pike County jail until Wednesday, when he was released on a surety bond. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has asked the judge to issue a new warrant for his arrest.

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LONDON, Ky. — Two weeks after one of the owners of a defunct Pikeville pain management clinic pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge, his partner has seen her case has been set for trial.

Brandy Melissa Meadows, 47, of Pikeville, a former owner of the Kentucky Mountain Health clinic, entered a not guilty plea in London federal court on Thursday.

Earlier this month, her partner, Bryce Layne May, 58, of Ashville, N.C., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. In his plea agreement, he admitted that after a doctor left the company, Kentucky Mountain Health continued to use his name and credentials to issue oxycodone and hydrocodone prescriptions to customers who paid $200 in cash per visit.

May now faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced August 18. He has also agreed to pay more than $16,000 in restitution and to forfeit more than $89,000 made from the scheme.

Meadows has been indicted on the same charge, as well as a charge of aggravated identity theft for using the doctor’s personal information to issue prescriptions. Her trial has been set for June 16 in London and is expected to last about four days.

Both Meadows and May remain free pending the resolution of their cases.

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META, Ky. — A Letcher County woman who pleaded guilty a federal meth distribution conspiracy charge last month has been arrested for meth trafficking again.

Just before 1 a.m., Saturday, a state trooper pulled over a truck traveling 35 miles an hour along U.S. 119 near the Zebulon exit. The driver, 39-year-old Britia Noel Johnson, of McRoberts, turned over her license and registration, and the officer soon learned she had a lengthy criminal history and was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service in Virginia.

On March 13, Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of meth in Abingdon federal court. She was allowed to remain free while awaiting sentencing.

Johnson was handcuffed and allowed to sit on the ground by the police car’s front tire while the trooper conducted a search. That search turned up a glass pipe in the truck.

But another officer noticed a small bag containing 3.5 grams of meth in front of the tire where Johnson had been sitting. Johnson claimed the drugs were not hers, but dashcam video showed her acting suspiciously while sitting there.

Johnson was placed under arrest and put into the police car. As the trooper backed up to take her to jail, he heard a crunching sound and felt his tire roll over something. When he went to look at what he had run over, he found a larger bag containing between 4 and 8 ounces of meth.

The officer wrote in his report that he believes the bag was missed because it had been placed either directly behind or on top of his tire. Johnson again protested that the drugs were not hers and suggested the trooper planted them.

She is now charged with meth trafficking, evidence tampering and possession of drug paraphernalia. She is being held without bond in the Pike County Detention Center.

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LONDON, Ky. — An investigation into inmate assaults at the Martin County federal prison has concluded, with the sixth and final defendant being sentenced on Wednesday.

Michael Childers, 47, of Harold, who worked as a lieutenant at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy, was sentenced to 17 months in prison for falsifying records.

In his plea agreement, he admitted that he and four other prison employees were in the lieutenants’ office in April 2021, when an inmate was brought in to request protective custody. Instead, the guards assaulted the inmate.

Childers admitted to writing an incident report afterward, falsely claiming that the inmate had punched and head-butted him first. He said he did so to impede any investigation into the assault.

The other employees involved have already been sentenced for their crimes. They include:

• Lt. Terry Melvin, 48 months for conspiracy against rights and violating civil rights. Melvin also informed prosecutors that the prison had an “unofficial policy” of assaulting inmates who requested protective custody in order to reduce the population of the special housing unit.
• Lt. Kevin Pearce, 66 months for writing false reports about inmate assaults.
• Case management coordinator Samuel Patrick, 36 months for deprivation of rights.
• Captain’s secretary Clinton Pauley, 40 months for deprivation of rights.

A sixth employee, Lt. Ryan Elliott, who was not involved in the same assault, also pleaded guilty to assaulting another inmate and writing a false report another assault.

The cases were investigated by the FBI and the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Justice.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Martin County man has agreed to plead guilty to a federal gun charge in exchange for having drug charges against him dropped.

Jimmy Cornett, 61, of Tomahawk, appeared in Lexington federal court on Tuesday for a pretrial conference. He had been facing two counts of distributing meth and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Cornett had previously been convicted of similar charges in 2010.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to one of the gun charges. In his plea agreement, he admitted selling meth to an undercover informant on two occasions last May. He also admitted selling a shotgun to the informant on the second occasion.

Cornett will face up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced July 9.

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LONDON, Ky. — A former guard at the Martin County federal prison has been sentenced for his role in a conspiracy to abuse inmates.

Terry Melvin, 60, pleaded guilty in January 2025 to conspiracy against rights and deprivation of civil rights.
On Thursday, he was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. The charges stemmed from Melvin’s time as a lieutenant at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy.

In his plea agreement, he described an “unofficial” policy of abuse at the prison.

Under Bureau of Prisons rules, inmates who request protective custody due to threats are placed in a special housing unit, or SHU, while their claims are investigated. But Melvin’s plea agreement revealed that he conspired with at least 17 other prison employees, including several senior staff, to reduce the population of the SHU by assaulting inmates.

The plea agreement says inmates were given a chance to withdraw their complaints, and those who did would be returned to their regular housing unit. Those who didn’t would be assaulted by prison employees, then false reports would be filed claiming the abuse was a response to the prisoner attacking a guard.

The plea agreement says prison staff were given promotions and monetary rewards worth thousands to go along with the scheme.

Melvin’s 48-month sentence was less than the 63 months prosecutors had been seeking, but more than the 12 months and one day Melvin had requested.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — One of the owners of a defunct Pikeville pain management clinic has pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge, while his former partner faces an indictment of her own.

Bryce Layne May, 58, of Ashville, N.C., appeared in Frankfort federal court Wednesday to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

May was partners with Brandy Melissa Meadows, 47, of Pikeville, in the operation of the now-closed Kentucky Mountain Health clinic on Hibbard Street in Pikeville.

According to May’s plea agreement, Kentucky Mountain Health employed a doctor who had authorization to prescribe controlled substances until November 2023. After the clinic and doctor parted ways, May says in his plea agreement that he and Meadows agreed to continuing issuing prescriptions to clients, using the doctor’s name, DEA registration number and “hard token” used for two-factor authentication.

May says the doctor had no knowledge his credentials were being used by the clinic.

Patients would pay $200 in cash per visit to receive prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone from November of 2023 until June of 2024, when police raided the clinic with a search warrant.

May now faces up to 20 years in prison He has also agreed to pay more than $16,000 in restitution to the Kentucky Medical Assistance Program and to forfeit more than $89,000 more, which represents the money made from the scheme.

Once his guilty plea has been accepted, May will be sentenced August 11 in London.

Meadows has been indicted on the same charge, as well as a charge of aggravated identity theft for using the doctor’s personal information to issue prescriptions. She is scheduled to appear in London federal court April 16.

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VICCO, Ky. — A Perry County man who was charged with murder for his connection to a fatal UTV crash in February now faces new charges based on allegations that came to light after the crash.

Noah Back, 26, of Vicco, was a passenger in the crash Feb. 28, along with another man and two 16-year-old girls. One of the teens was driving at the time, and the other, Emilynn Clark, died of injuries sustained in the crash.

Back was charged with murder on March 21, and a Perry County grand jury is currently weighing whether to indict him.

But social media posts shortly after the crash alerted authorities that Back had been involved in a sexual relationship with the other girl in the crash.

During a forensic interview at Care Cottage Child Advocacy Center in Hazard on March 12, the girl revealed the relationship allegedly began when the girl was 14. Back was a volunteer basketball coach at the girl’s school, and his mother was the principal at that school.

She was still 14 when the two began a sexual relationship, including during a trip to Atlanta for a Don Tolliver concert, when Back was celebrating his 25th birthday.

Back has initially been charged with transporting a minor across state lines for criminal sexual activity. He is currently being held without bond in the Laurel County jail.

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