Former Williamsburg Police Officer Sentenced 112 Months for Pharmacy Burglary and Pill Conspiracy
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 31, 2011 |
LONDON—A former Williamsburg police officer was sentenced today to 112 months in federal prison for burglarizing a Williamsburg pharmacy and for his involvement in a prescription pill conspiracy.
U.S. District Court Judge Gergory Van Tatenhove sentenced Kenneth Bradley Nighbert, 34, of Lexington, Kentucky, for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and conspiracy to burglarize a pharmacy. Nighbert was also ordered to pay $9,832 in restitution to the insurance company that covered the financial damages to the pharmacy.
According to court documents, in 2006, Nighbert and another co-defendant robbed a Whitley County pharmacy of approximately $500 worth of controlled substances. The substances consisted primarily of oxycodone pills. Nighbert was a Williamsburg police officer at the time of the robbery.
Nighbert also admitted that from December 2005 until May of 2007, he participated in a conspiracy with other co-defendants to distribute thousands of oxycodone pills in Whitley County. The conspiracy was responsible for distributing 10,000 pills.
As part of the conspiracy, Nighbert traveled to Detroit, Mich. on two occasions to obtain oxycodone pills according to his plea agreement. Nighbert admitted that he then supplied those pills to a co-defendant who ultimately distributed the pills.
The plea agreement states that the Laurel County Sheriff’s Department arrested Nighbert for DUI in May of 2007 and discovered $32,000 in cash in his vehicle. Court documents state that Nighbert planned to use that money to pay his pill supplier in Detroit.
Some of Nighbert’s co-defendants were also sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy. Michael Ball received 108 months and Joritta Petrey received 24 months.
In April of 2010, Nighbert and his co-defendants were indicted for their respective roles in the burglary and the prescription pill conspiracies.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Elizabeth A. Fries, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Division; and Rodney Brewer, Kentucky State Police Commissioner, jointly made the announcement today.
The investigation was conducted by FBI, KSP, and the Williamsburg Police Department.