Man gets 9 years in federal gun/drug case

Dec. 12—ASHLAND — A Pikeville man hemmed up in March on gun and drug charges relating to an arrest at the Cannonsburg Walmart will serve nine years in prison, a federal judge ordered Monday.

During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning likened 38-year-old Thomas J. Bentley's criminal history to that of a baseball card of a seasoned player.

"You remember the back of the baseball cards where they would have the stats and where a player played? If someone had a long history, it took a magnifying glass tor read that history," Bunning said. "Mr. Bentley's criminal history card, if you will, requires a magnifying glass."

Even defense attorney Michael "Frenchie" Curtis, who has practiced law for roughly half a century, said his client had one of the longest rap sheets he's ever seen.

Prior to sentencing, Curtis and federal prosecutor Erin Roth tried to haggle out a sentence between 92 months and 115 months.

Curtis asked for an in-the-middle sentence to give Bentley time to address his addiction and "an opportunity to be provided the guidance he's never received." Roth requested the top end of the guidelines.

Curtis also said his client committed non-violent offenses related to drugs, including numerous shoplifting crimes.

When Bentley — who was caught with 53 grams of heroin/fentanyl mix and a gun inside his 2006 Mercedes on March 18 — was asked to speak, he apologized for his actions and asked for Bunning to enroll him in federal programs for vocational training and drug treatment.

"I want to turn this experience into a positive so I can have a better life once I'm out," he said. "I served in county for most of my sentences and I didn't really get much rehabilitation."

Roth contended that while most Bentley's history is non-violent, he did have a robbery conviction involving holding up a clerk at knifepoint. She also said a fleeing and evading police conviction could've resulted in serious injury and the charges before the court could've been worse.

"Any time there's distribution of drugs with a firearm, there's the potential of something tragic happening," she said. "His lengthy criminal history — one of the longest I've seen — shows a lack of respect for the law."

Prior to sentencing, Bunning made note of the criminal history, placing Bentley in the top five in terms of the number of prior convictions coming before him in the court.

"I appreciate the fact that while serving in the county jails, you didn't get the rehabilitative services you needed," Bunning said. "Structure is clearly necessary here and while I can't say for sure, I'd say most of these prior had a substance abuse component."

In addition to the nine years in prison, Bunning ordered Bentley to undergo drug addiction treatment, vocational training and mental health treatment while in the federal system.

"Hopefully if you're clean and sober you'll be able to turn your life around," Bunning said.

Once released from prison, Bentley will have to serve four years supervised release.

(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com