The brother of Gov. Earl Ray
Tomblin pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to distributing drugs and will
remain on home confinement until his sentencing June 25.
However, that arrangement was made
tenuous after Carl Tomblin, 50, of Chapmanville, tested positive Tuesday
morning for a non-prescribed controlled substance.
One of the first questions U.S.
District Judge John Copenhaver asked Tomblin was had he taken any drugs other
than those prescribed to him by a doctor in the last 24-hours. He told the
judge no. However, near the end of the hearing, when the judge read the
pre-sentencing report, he noted that a drug test Tomblin took before the
hearing showed benzodiazapine, better known as Valium.
Copenhaver made it clear if Tomblin
tests positive for any unauthorized drugs again he would be going to prison
with an increased sentence.
Tomblin pleaded guilty to one count
of distributing oxymorphone to an informant with the U.S. 119 Task Force on
Dec. 6. However, Tomblin admitted in court he sold the drug one pill at a time
to the same informant on at least five separate occasions between December and
January. Tomblin estimated he sold between 30-40 oxymorphone pills between Jan.
2013 and Jan. 2014.
Tomblin faces up to 20-years in
prison and a $1 million fine. That all depends on his cooperation with the U.S.
Attorney’s Office.
Copenhaver said so far Tomblin
hasn’t accepted responsibility for his crime. Not only did he test positive for
the drug Tuesday morning, he also checked himself out of a drug rehab in Huntington
The judge reluctantly agreed to
allow Tomblin to post $10,000 bond and remain on home confinement until his
sentencing. However, Copenhaver warned Tomblin: “There will be no fooling
around with you!”
Tomblin’s mother and father were in
the courtroom for the hearing.
