August 11, 2014

Two Detroit Men Sentenced for Transporting and Distributing Heroin in Huntington

HUNTINGTON, WV—United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that two Detroit, Michigan men were sentenced to federal prison today for their roles in conspiracies to distribute heroin in the Huntington, West Virginia area. Daniel M. Flowers, 44, and Cecil Rice, 34, appeared before Chief Judge Robert C. Chambers who imposed the sentences.

Flowers previously pleaded guilty in May of 2014 to distributing heroin. Flowers admitted that between August of 2008 and April of 2013, he participated with others to transport heroin from Detroit to Huntington for distribution in Huntington and the surrounding area. Flowers and his co-conspirators used multiple residences around Huntington to store, prepare and distribute the heroin.

On April 10, 2013, a confidential informant (CI) working with law enforcement, contacted Flowers and arranged to buy some heroin. The CI subsequently met with Flowers at an apartment in the 1000 block of 12th Avenue in Huntington, where Flowers sold him heroin in exchange for $150.

The FBI Huntington Violent Crimes Drug Task Force and the Huntington Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution. In the second case, Cecil Rice was sentenced for his role in the distribution of heroin shipped from Detroit to Huntington, Rice, who pleaded guilty in May of 2014 to possession with intent to distribute heroin, admitted that between August of 2008 and September of 2013, he participated in the transportation of heroin, cocaine base and oxycodone from Detroit to Huntington. Like Flowers, Rice and his co-conspirators used various residences in the Huntington area to store, prepare and distribute the illegal drugs.

On September 19, 2013, Rice was arrested after leaving a motel located on 16th Street in Huntington. When officers went to arrest Rice, they discovered two packs of heroin concealed in his mouth. Rice was in the process of selling the heroin at the time of his arrest. Officers also conducted a search of the motel room from which Rice had exited just prior to his arrest and found more heroin and cocaine base. The FBI Huntington Violent Crimes Drug Task Force and the Huntington Police Department conducted this investigation with assistance from the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams also handled this prosecution.

These cases were 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 heroin and prescription drugs. 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 opiates, including heroin, in communities across the Southern District.