Three Southwest Virginia Drug Dealers Sentence To Federal Prison

Monday, May 12, 2025, 1:15 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

ABINGDON, VA.- Last week, a major supplier of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Southwest Region of Virginia and two other local drug dealers were sentenced to federal prison for distributing illicit narcotics, dealing a significant blow to the drug market in Southwest Virginia.

     On Thursday, May 8, 2025, Bradley Mitchell Chester, 39, of Pound, Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia and was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for his previously entered guilty plea to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 40 Grams or More of Fentanyl; and two counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Fentanyl.

     Also, on Thursday, two local drug dealers, Matthew Addington, 44, and Michael Hicks, 36, both of Pound, Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of West Virginia and were each sentenced, Addington to 60 months in federal prison, and Hicks to 36 months in federal prison.

According To The U.S. Attorney’s Office

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Lee and charging documents filed with the District Court, Chester served as a major supplier of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Wise County, Virginia, area from around March 2023 through March 2024. Chester would routinely make trips to North Carolina and Kentucky with co-conspirators to pick up several pounds of methamphetamine and a pound of fentanyl at a time from drug suppliers.

     Chester then would supply Addington and Hicks as well as other co-conspirators, which they then would redistribute the illicit narcotics locally.