A Wise County man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine and illegally possessing firearms.
Randall Scott Hileman, 56, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, to possessing with the intent to distribute and distributing methamphetamine, and to possession of firearms by a convicted felon.
He was sentenced November 30 to serve 120 months in federal prison. The federal court system does not offer parole.
Hileman’s conviction stems from five undercover drug transactions in 2021 and 2022 during which Hileman sold methamphetamine to informants, according to court documents. When Wise County law enforcement attempted to arrest Hileman on outstanding warrants in September of 2022, a standoff ensued, and Hileman was found to be in possession of four firearms and assorted ammunition. His multiple felony drug convictions prohibit him from possessing any firearms.
After his arrest, Hileman admitted his connection to co-defendant Justin Elliott, who law enforcement had previously identified as a methamphetamine trafficker as a result of Elliott’s August 2021 arrest in Coeburn, Virginia. The arrest resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of methamphetamine and several additional firearms. Through the investigation, Hileman and Elliott admitted not only to being involved in the distribution of methamphetamine throughout Southwest Virginia, but also admitted they trafficked a massive quantity of crystal ice methamphetamine into the same area over the course of two years, including more than 30 kilograms of methamphetamine, some of which was 100 percent pure. Elliott was sentenced in May 2023 to serve 188 months in federal prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Coeburn Police Department, the Norton Police Department, the Wise County Sheriff’s Office and the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force investigated the case.
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Rebecca Barnabi
