METH CONSPIRATORS TO SERVE 6 YEARS OR MORE IN PRISON
On February 4th, 2015, Marilyn Hill and Danny Justus of Buchanan County were sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. Hill received a sentence of 27 years in a Virginia prison with 21 years of that sentence being suspended on the condition that she complete 7 years of active, supervised probation. Justus was sentenced to 10 years in a Virginia prison with 3 years and 5 months of his sentence suspended on the condition that he complete 4 years of active supervised probation.
In February of 2014, investigators with the 29th Circuit Narcotics Task Force entered a home in the Looney’s Creek section of Buchanan County in search of a suspected meth lab. During their search, investigators found and seized the meth lab. Hill, Justus, and two others were all present. Hill and Justus were cooperative with the investigation and led investigators to sites where methamphetamine had been previously cooked.
The evidence before the Court showed that Hill and Justus were not actually making the methamphetamine, but instead, were providing Pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient used to manufacture meth, to the people who were making it in exchange for a portion of the finished product to feed their addictions.
When asked for comment, Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald Arrington stated, “I believe today, just as I did when I first ran for office, that we must differentiate between drug dealers and drug addicts. With that being said, however, methamphetamine is an extremely dangerous drug, and its use and manufacture is on the rise in our County. Because each of these individuals had significant prior criminal records, they were still deserving of a substantial sentence for their roles in these crimes.” Arrington went on to commend the work of the 29th Circuit Narcotics Task Force.