Plea deal may lead to 3-12 months sentence for former pharmacy tech who had confronted human trafficking cost | Info

A Pike man pleaded responsible Feb. 2 to charges which may lead to a three-12 months jail sentence, however bills together with human trafficking in direction of him had been dropped because of what prosecutors reported was an absence of proof.

Jacob West, 34, of Runyon Division Road, Pinsonfork, pleaded responsible earlier than Pike Circuit Resolve Eddy Coleman to charges of theft, just like his alleged theft of medicine to which he skilled receive because of his occupation as a pharmacy technician at Meals Metropolis in South Williamson, and tampering with proof. Pike Commonwealth’s Lawyer Invoice Slone claimed all through the sentencing listening to his workplace surroundings is recommending that West be sentenced to offer a number of a long time in jail within the case.

Slone reported Feb. 2 that the selection to dismiss different costs West confronted, like costs of human trafficking, unlawful transaction with a minimal and possession or viewing of content material portraying a sexual total efficiency by a minor — was constructed just because there merely was no more than sufficient proof to convict West on these folks charges. Slone talked about one specific side in that would have been the crime West allegedly devoted which resulted within the tampering with proof cost — deleting and possessing many others delete maybe incriminating messages.

Slone reported the truth there wasn’t ample proof turned apparent when the U.S. Lawyer’s Enterprise for the Japanese District of Kentucky, which correctly prosecuted West’s co-defendant within the crimes, Kena Reed, 29, of Ky. 1056, Pinsonfork, was unable to acquire adequate proof to problem a federal indictment versus West.

“Our investigators and the U.S. Lawyer’s investigators have been not geared up to uncover adequate proof to ship an indictment versus West,” Slone stated. “We couldn’t uncover it the federal federal authorities couldn’t come throughout it. If they might have gotten only one specific {photograph}, they might have indicted him.”

Reed was sentenced in September in federal court docket to serve 20 a long time in jail on costs of intercourse trafficking of a minimal and creating little one sexual abuse supplies.

In accordance with the plea settlement in Reed’s circumstance, involving 2018 and 2019, she equipped an unnamed slight female to quite a few grownup males for enterprise sexual activity acts, in commerce for earnings and medicine, which she would share with the slight. On a number of situations, the settlement reported, Reed transported the minor goal from Kentucky to West Virginia for the operate of proudly owning the insignificant engage in industrial intercourse.

On a minimum of an individual occasion, the association talked about, when the insignificant female was taking part within the enterprise intercourse acts, Reed developed a video of the insignificant taking part in sexual activity, which was in a while transmitted in interstate commerce when it was despatched by means of Snapchat.

Reed is presently serving her sentence at FCI Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia.

West, police have claimed, was a pharmacy technician and was determined by the use of the coaching course of the investigation to have offered dietary supplements to Reed in commerce for nude pictures and video clips of Reed and the juvenile feminine.

The theft demand towards West was just like the theft of the merchandise, which legislation enforcement reported was what initially led them to the scenario.

Officers with the Pike County Sheriff’s Office talked about in earlier interviews that the investigation commenced quickly after reps from Foodstuff Metropolis contacted the sheriff’s administrative center on Aug. 19, 2019, in regard to the theft of 5,525 merchandise, valued at $9,186, from the South Williamson Meals City pharmacy. The invention of the missing capsules, officers reported claimed, resulted from an anonymous thought.

Deputies, in accordance to the sheriff’s enterprise, ended up instructed that West was captured on video clip surveillance having among the remedy and that he had already been fired from his posture previous to the deputies’ arrival.

The investigation then progressed as deputies interviewed possible witnesses, legislation enforcement defined, and it was decided that West skilled been giving capsules to Reed in alternate for the nude pictures and movies.

Kentucky Board of Pharmacy information current that West’s pharmacy technician license was revoked in 2019 in relation to the charges.

He’s established to be sentenced on March 11, and was allowed to maintain on being no value on the identical bond pending sentencing.