GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Ronnie Lee Shelton, 43, and Brenda Lee
Bolton, 46, both of Greeneville, Tenn., Eric Matthew Vance, 33, of Blountville,
Tenn., and Geri Kim Ward, 33, of Church Hill, Tenn., were sentenced between
August 18 and August 20, 2015, by the Honorable R. Leon Jordan, U.S. District
Court Judge, to federal prison terms of 235 months, 95 months, 135 months and
78 months respectively. These sentences were a result of their roles in an
extensive a-PVP (alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone) distribution conspiracy
centered in northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia and western North Carolina.
Both Shelton and Vance were also convicted for possessing a firearm in
furtherance of their a-PVP trafficking.
A-PVP is a synthetic drug, primarily ordered from China,
which is commonly referred to on the street as “gravel” or “flakka.” Common
effects on users include: extreme paranoia; hallucinations; elevated blood
pressure; extremely high body temperature; excited delirium; staying awake for
days; hostility and having exceptional strength without apparent fatigue. These
are many of the characteristics of the drug that make it very dangerous for the
user but also for law enforcement responding to people who are high on it.
A-PVP has been referred to by users of the substance as “meth on steroids.”
According to the plea agreements signed and filed with the
district court clerk’s office, the combined aggregate total of a-PVP stipulated
to by Shelton, Bolton, Vance and Ward was approximately 37,000 grams. Shelton
admitted to being accountable for 20,000 grams of that total. Shelton was
initially arrested in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., in January 2014, in a vehicle that
contained approximately 530 grams of a-PVP and a loaded .40 caliber handgun. A
few months later, in early May 2014, he escaped from the Greene County Jail. In
numerous jail recorded conversations, Shelton conspired with several other people
to plan the escape and admitted that he wanted to escape because he was facing
a long sentence on federal gravel charges.
Vance was arrested in March 2014 after a hit and run
incident in Unicoi County, Tenn. A subsequent search of Vance revealed a loaded
.380 handgun and 11 baggies containing approximately 50 grams of a-PVP. Each
was baggie was individually wrapped and had the names of individuals, dates and
weights on them. Shelton, Bolton, Vance and Ward all made repeated trips to
North Carolina to obtain a-PVP and transported it back to the Eastern District
of Tennessee for resale.
Others who have been previously sentenced in this a-PVP
trafficking investigation include Richard McNeal Hillman, Austin Michael
Stallard, Johnny Michael Stallard, Desera Jade Allen, Phillip Wayne Mullins,
Johnny White, Michael Ray Mangum and Evelyn Vickers, who were sentenced to
serve 188 months, 121 months, 180 months, 151 months, 151 months, 120 months,
120 months and 110 months in federal prison respectively.
Law enforcement agencies participating in this investigation
include the Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations, Sullivan County
Sheriff’s Office, Kingsport Police Department, Hawkins County Sheriff’s
Department, Johnson City Police Department, Greeneville, Tennessee Police
Department, Hendersonville, North Carolina Police Department, and Scott County,
Virginia Sheriff’s Office, all of which provided invaluable assistance during
the course of the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor
represented the United States.
Law enforcement investigations have revealed that A-PVP
began to appear in the Eastern District of Tennessee as early as 2012 and
federal, state and local law enforcement immediately joined forces to combat
this growing problem. Studies have shown that it is one of the most dangerous
and addictive drugs available anywhere. The seriousness of these offenses is
further aggravated by the propensity of many individuals involved in the sale
of a-PVP to carry and use firearms.
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