United States Drug Enforcement Administration

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Jason Whitis, 41, Robbie Neal Whitis, 34, and Joshua Kelley Pyles, 33, each of Somerset, Ky., were sentenced today, by Senior United States District Judge Joseph M. Hood, for conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  Robbie Whitis and Pyles were also sentenced for possessing a firearm in furtherance of the methamphetamine conspiracy.  Jason Whitis was sentenced to 200 months in prison; Robbie Whitis was sentenced to 75 months; and Pyles was sentenced to 120 months.

Jason Whitis and Robbie Whitis previously pleaded guilty, on August 7, 2017, and admitted that they conspired with each other and Pyles to distribute approximately 220 grams of methamphetamine.  The methamphetamine was intended for distribution in the Somerset area.  The methamphetamine was discovered during a traffic stop of a vehicle occupied by all three defendants, in Fayette County, on April 26, 2017.  During the traffic stop, Robbie Whitis and Pyles were each found in possession of a firearm.  Robbie Whitis then admitted that he possessed the firearm for protection, in furtherance of the drug crime.  Pyles was found guilty after a jury trial, in August of this year.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Detroit Division; and Richard Sanders, Commissioner, Kentucky State Police, jointly made the announcement.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA and the Kentucky State Police.  The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert M. Duncan, Jr., and Lauren Tanner Bradley.