Covington Man Sentenced for Drug Trafficking

COVINGTON, KY— Scott Finnell, 21, of Covington, Ky. was sentenced today to 132 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Judge David L. Bunning for drug trafficking.

In the course of his guilty plea in August of 2009, Finnell admitted that on April 30, 2009, he was arrested after fleeing from police in the area of the Jacob Price Housing Project in Covington. After searching him, law enforcement discovered more than six grams of crack cocaine.

Finnell also admitted that he intended to distribute the cocaine. Finnell provided police with a false name and date of birth in an effort to portray himself as a juvenile and escape prosecution as an adult. Finnell even continued to maintain the false name and date of birth through an initial appearance in juvenile court until the deception was uncovered.

Finell admitted that he possessed a prior felony drug conviction. He also has prior adult convictions for carrying a concealed weapon, receiving a stolen firearm, receiving a stolen car, assaulting a police officer, fleeing and evading, and bail jumping. Finnell was indicted in June of 2009.

Under federal law, Finnell will have to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence before being released. Once he’s released, Finnell will be under supervised release for eight years.

James A. Zerhusen, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Timothy D. Cox, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), jointly made the announcement today after Finnell was sentenced.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Covington Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony J. Bracke.