ABINGDON, Va. — A Wise County man is expected to plead guilty to federal drug and gun charges, after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.

Michael Wynn Whitaker Jr., 46, of Wise, has signed an agreement pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of meth, distributing meth and felon in possession of a firearm. An affidavit in the case file says police arranged undercover purchases of drugs and guns in 2024 and had information from informants about similar purchases.

Investigators say Whitaker was part of a larger conspiracy spanning counties all along the Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia borders. In an interview with police from Kentucky and Virginia, Whitaker said he began obtaining cocaine and fentanyl from a home in Feds Creek sometime around the beginning of 2023. He later began buying meth and fentanyl from another location in West Virginia.

Prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of 10 years in exchange for Whitaker’s plea. However, the judge will not be bound by that recommendation and, according to the plea agreement, Whitaker will give up his right to withdraw his guilty plea once it becomes official.

Whitaker is currently being held in the Southwestern Regional Jail in Abingdon. He is expected to make his plea official during a hearing July 11.