Carl Tomblin (center) leaves the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon with his mother, Freda, and his son Carl Jr., after pleading guilty to a drug charge.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As he pleaded guilty to a federal drug charge on Tuesday, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s brother was warned that he could face more prison time if he continues to violate the conditions of his bail.
“There will be no fooling around with you,” U.S. District Court Judge John Copenhaver told Carl Tomblin after placing him on home confinement to await sentencing.
Tomblin, 50, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal drug charge. He admitted that he sold oxymorphone to a confidential informant in Chapmanville.
The charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Copenhaver will sentence Tomblin on June 25.
Tomblin was charged last month in an information, which is similar to an indictment but generally means the defendant is cooperating with prosecutors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Haley Bunn told Copenhaver that Tomblin admitted he sold between 30 to 40 pills between May 2013 and January 2014. He sold the painkiller, often sold under the brand name Opana, for $100 apiece, he said.
On several occasions in December and January, Tomblin sold a pill to a confidential informant, the prosecutor said.
“Your honor, I met with the individual and he told me he had a need for an oxymorphone pill and I knew where he could get it,” Tomblin told the judge. “He gave me the money and I purchased it for him and I did it a couple of different times…”
