Austin Pannell sentenced to prison for drug crime

BLUEFIELD, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Austin Pannell, 27, from Bluefield, has been sentenced to nine years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl .

According to court documents and statements made in court, Pannell was found guilty of selling fentanyl to a confidential informant outside a Princeton apartment on August 18, 2022. He also confessed to selling additional quantities of fentanyl to a confidential informant on three other occasions in Princeton and Bluefield between July 12, 2022, and August 18, 2022.

Pannell was arrested on July 27, 2023, at a residence in Bluefield, where law enforcement officers found 568 grams of fentanyl, a Delton 5.56mm AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, and a Phoenix Arms .25-caliber handgun that were linked to Pannell.

United States Attorney Will Thompson announced the sentencing and highlighted the investigative work of the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, which comprises members of the West Virginia State Police, the Bluefield Police Department, the Princeton Police Department, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, the McDowell County Sheriff’s Department, and the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber handed down the sentence, and Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Isabell prosecuted the case.