HUNTINGTON, WV—United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that Kamel Auntae Burris, 31, of Huntington, West Virginia was sentenced today to five years in federal prison for using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. In November of 2013, Burris, who was wearing a mask, robbed a known drug dealer at gun point. The robbery occurred at the drug dealer’s apartment on 10th Street in Huntington.

This case arose out of a joint law enforcement investigation of Kenneth Dewitt Newman and his organization for the distribution of illegal drugs in the Huntington area. The Newman organization was responsible for the distribution of cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, prescription pills, MDMA (a street drug akin to Ecstasy) and marijuana. The investigation led to the indictment of 15 defendants, including Burris, for their various roles in the conspiracy. Burris has been described as an enforcer for the Newman organization.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Huntington Police Department, Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is being 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.