Sisters Plead Guilty To Trafficking Oxycodone Pills Into West Virginia
Monday, September 2, 2024, 3:00 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
CHARLESTON, W.VA.- On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, two sisters, Dawn Marie Bennett, 42, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and April Lynn McNeill, 44, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, appeared in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and each pleaded guilty Aiding and Abetting the Use of a Communication Facility to Facilitate Drug Trafficking.
According To The U.S. Attorney
According to U.S. Attorney Will Thompson and documents filed with the court, on or about January 24, 2023, Bennett arranged with McNeill, her sister, to send her a package through the United States Postal Service containing approximately 334 pills containing oxycodone or hydrocodone.
Law enforcement intercepted the package after it was revealed that it contained the pills and before it arrived at McNeill’s residence. McNeill was detained after officers delivered the package, and she accepted it.
Sisters Admit Guilt
In court, Bennett and McNeill both admitted to the arrangement. Also, they admitted to arranging the shipment of approximately 487 pills containing oxycodone or hydrocodone from Bennett to McNeill on or about January 19, 2024. Law enforcement intercepted that package and never delivered it to McNeill’s residence.
The two sisters also admitted that McNeill intended to sell the pills from both shipments to people in the Parkersburg, West Virginia area.
McNeill and Bennett are both scheduled to be sentenced on December 12, 2024. At that time, Bennett and McNeill each face a maximum of four years in federal prison, followed by up to one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Will Thompson thanked the investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Parkersburg Violent Crime and Narcotics Task Force for the investigation, arrest, and Wednesday’s guilty plea.
