Former Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy, Burglarizing a Pharmacy

LONDON—The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Kentucky State Police (KSP) jointly announced today that a former Williamsburg police officer admitted yesterday in federal court that he was involved in the burglary of a Williamsburg pharmacy and helped facilitate a long-term prescription pill trafficking conspiracy.

Kenneth Bradley Nighbert, 32, of Lexington, Ky. pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and conspiracy to burglarize a pharmacy.

According to court documents, in February of 2006, Nighbert, along with a codefendant, broke into the Whitley Pharmacy after business hours. The two men used a chain to tie the bumper of an SUV to the doors of the pharmacy to pull the pharmacy doors open. Both men then entered the pharmacy and took nearly all of the narcotics including a large amount of pills containing oxycodone. Nighbert worked as a police officer for the Williamsburg Police Department at the time of the burglary.

Nighbert also admitted that from around December 2005 until May of 2007, he participated in a conspiracy with others to distribute thousands of oxycodone pills in Whitley County. This group was responsible for distributing approximately 10,000 Oxycontin pills (80 milligrams each).

As part of this conspiracy, Nighbert admitted that he traveled to Detroit, Mich. on several occasions to obtain Oxycontin pills. Nighbert admitted that he then distributed those pills to others in the Whitley County area.

In May of 2007, the Laurel County Sheriff’s Department arrested Nighbert for DUI. During this arrest, deputies seized 14 Oxycontin pills (80 milligrams each), a pistol, and $32,000 in cash. Nighbert admitted that he planned to use that money to purchase additional pills from his supplier in Detroit.

In April of this year, Nighbert and five others were indicted for their respective roles in the burglary and the prescription pill conspiracy.

Branden Sutton, 32, has already pleaded guilty for his participation in the drug conspiracy.

The investigation was conducted by KSP and the FBI.

Nighbert will be sentenced in Federal Court in London, Ky. on November 4, 2010. He faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment for the drug conspiracy and a maximum of 10 years for the burglary charge. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of sentences.