Two Southwest Virginia Natives Sentenced in Federal Court for Multi-State Drug Distribution Conspiracy Investigation

Two members from a drug cartel that trafficked a variety of substances such as oxycodone have been sentenced in federal court in Abingdon on drug conspiracy charges.

A report from U.S Attorney Thomas Cullen says Audrea Augusta Woodward, 50, of Big Stone Gap, Va., and Paul Thomas Jones, 26, of Pennington Gap, Va., each pled guilty to one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute and distributing oxycodone.

Woodward was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison while Thomas was sentenced to 18 months.

Records and evidence in the court case revealed the organization operated out of Lee and Wise County from November of 2016 to March of last year. In addition, defendants conspired to traffic oxycodone from parts of Georgia for redistribution in Southwest Virginia.

In total, 11 individuals were charged in this case, and the two lead defendants are scheduled for trial in September.