Howard sentenced to 172 months in federal drug case – Salyersville Independent

PIKEVILLE – A Magoffin County man was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison Monday in a federal drug case.

On Sept. 23, Gregory Howard, 52, of Salyersville, was sentenced in federal court in Pikeville to 160 months in prison for distributing a quantity of oxycodone, to which he pleaded guilty in February. In addition, Howard was sentenced to 12 months in prison for violating his probation in a previous case, for a total sentence of 172 months or 14 years and 4 months.

On February 13, 2024, Howard entered a guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins in federal court in Pikeville, waived his right to re-arraignment in the presence of a U.S. District Judge, and agreed to the judge accepting the plea deal. Judge Atkins recommended that Howard's guilty plea be accepted and he be found guilty.

As part of the agreement signed, Howard pleaded guilty to Count 17 of the indictment, which involved distributing a quantity of pills containing oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance.

Pursuant to the agreement, Howard agreed that he knowingly and intentionally distributed pills containing oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, and that he knew at the time of distribution that the substance was a controlled substance.

The United States argues that it can prove the following facts that establish beyond a reasonable doubt the essential elements of the crime:

– Between approximately March 2022 and August 17, 2023, Howard regularly obtained oxycodone surveys from multiple providers and worked with others to distribute these surveys throughout Magoffin County. Sometimes Howard had an employee deliver the pills, other times he reportedly sold them directly from his home on Bloomington Road.

-On or about August 3, 2023, law enforcement used a confidential informant to conduct a controlled purchase of oxycodone tablets from Howard at his residence, whereby the informant paid Howard $520 and Howard provided the informant with approximately four oxycodone tablets. 20 mg tablets supplied one oxycodone 30 mg tablet. During the transaction, Howard reportedly told the informant that he “had a few hundred oxycodone 20 mg and 30 mg tablets, but that quantity was not for him.”

– The controlled purchase on August 3, 2023 was one of 13 controlled purchases that law enforcement made from Howard at his residence. Police also made three controlled purchases from Howard's partner, two of which also took place at Howard's apartment.

– Between March 2022 and August 2023, law enforcement raided Howard's home twice, with police seizing $14,540 in one raid and $23,170 in the second. The seized currency in both cases belonged to Howard and was the proceeds from the distribution of oxycodone.

At the time of the arraignment, Greg Howard was on probation for a 2017 conviction for possession with intent to distribute a quantity of hydrocodone pills.

In December 2017, Howard was sentenced (through a plea deal) to 36 months in prison, concurrent with the 12 months he received for violating probation in his 2013 federal drug case, and six years of probation, concurrent with three years He received for violating his probation in the earlier case.

Howard is currently in custody at the Grayson County Detention Center.

Howard's co-defendant, Jesse Murrell, Jr., 54, also of Salyersville, was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release after taking a plea deal for conspiring to distribute oxycodone pills. As of press time, he is being held at the Beckley Federal Penitentiary.