HUNTINGTON, WV—Two Michigan men who were part of a conspiracy that funneled large quantities of heroin from Detroit to Huntington between 2012 and 2014 were sentenced to federal prison today, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Robert Lamar Payne, 31, of Detroit, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison and Derrick Wayne Goodwin, 25, also of Detroit, was sentenced to 74 months in federal prison. Both men previously pleaded guilty in federal court in Huntington in February of 2015 to possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

Payne admitted that from 2012 to 2014, he conspired with others to distribute heroin from Detroit in the Huntington area. Members of the conspiracy used multiple Huntington residences to store, prepare and distribute the drugs.

Payne and Goodwin also used an apartment at 1002 12th Avenue in Huntington as a base for distribution. In February of 2014, a confidential informant made multiple purchases of heroin from Payne from that apartment. On February 13, 2014, agents executed a search warrant at the apartment and seized approximately 41 grams of heroin and two firearms. That same day, agents searched a room at the Super 8 Motel on 16th Street Road in Huntington where they found Payne and Goodwin with approximately 200 grams of heroin.

The Huntington FBI Drug Task Force conducted the investigation with assistance from the Huntington Police Department Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.