Detroit oxycodone dealer pleads guilty to Federal drug crime

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Detroit drug dealer pleaded guilty today to a federal oxycodone crime, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Chester Lee Estes, 40, entered his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute oxycodone.

On October 2, 2014, agents with the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force were conducting surveillance of several individuals in Huntington who appeared to be involved in drug trafficking near the Days Inn. During that surveillance, agents observed Estes leave the hotel and travel west toward Walmart on Route 60. Members of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, who were assisting in the investigation, then arrested Estes on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for transferring and receiving stolen property. In a search of Estes following his arrest, agents seized 476 oxycodone pills, over $4,500 in cash, two cell phones, and a Days Inn room key. Law enforcement also conducted a search of the hotel room and located the girlfriend of Estes, along with their small child, as well as over $900 in cash and an additional cell phone.

Estes faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on June 20, 2016.

The investigation of Estes was conducted by the Huntington FBI Drug Task Force and the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory McVey is handling the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.

This case was brought 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.

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