MIAMI NEWS
November 28, 2012
Contact: Public Information Officer
Number: 954-660-4602
Oxycodone Trafficker Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison
NOV 28 (ORLANDO, Fla.)  - Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and Robert E. O'Neill, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, announced yesterday that U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell sentenced James Tipton (49, Irvine, KY) to 14 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute Oxycodone. Tipton was found guilty by a federal jury on April 6, 2012. Due to his prior criminal history, Tipton is designated as a career offender.
According to court documents, Tipton, along with two other conspirators (Harold Durham and Danny Winburn) traveled with $29,030.10 in cash from Kentucky to Orlando to purchase 2,000 oxycodone pills. Unbeknownst to them, the seller was a confidential informant. Upon meeting the informant to obtain the pills, Tipton and his conspirators were arrested.
Winburn (46, Richmond, KY) was found guilty during a separate trial. On July 24, 2012, he was sentenced to 38 months in federal prison. Durham (78, Irvine, KY) is scheduled for trial in January 2013.
This case was investigated by the DEA Orlando District Office.