Pikeville Man Sentenced to 33 Years for Fentanyl Trafficking and Firearms Possession

A Pikeville, Ky., man, Samuel C. Atkins, 52, was sentenced on Friday, by U.S. District Chief Judge Danny C. Reeves, to 396 months, for possession with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, distribution of fluorofentanyl, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. 

According to court documents, on January 3, 2023, the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force located Atkins, who was wanted on two outstanding state arrest warrants, at a residence in Richmond.  During a search of the residence, law enforcement located sixteen firearms and quantities of methamphetamine and fluorofentanyl in Atkins’s bedroom. Atkins, who had several prior felony convictions, later admitted to obtaining some of these firearms through his drug trafficking. Atkins was taken into custody and lodged at the Madison County Detention Center.

A few days later, detention center employees responded to Atkins’s cell, where four other inmates had suffered non-fatal overdoses.  A subsequent search of Atkins’s cell revealed multiple baggies containing approximately two and a half ounces of fentanyl and/or fluorofentanyl.  Atkins later admitted to concealing the drugs, bringing them into the detention center after his arrest on January 3, and distributing them to the other inmates.

Under federal law, Atkins must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.  Upon Atkins’s release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for eight years. 

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Shawn Morrow, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, Louisville Field Division; Jeremy Honaker, Acting U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Kentucky; and Sheriff Mike Coyle, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paco Villalobos prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.