Dowell pleads guilty to drug charges

ROANOKE — A Fancy Gap man pleaded guilty to a charge of distribution of methamphetamine in U.S. District Court in Roanoke Monday.
A federal grand jury indicted Cory Johnathan Dowell last May of possessing more than 50 grams of a mixture containing meth, a schedule II narcotic, according to court papers.
Dowell appeared in the federal court to answer the charge, stemming from an arrest last August, and entered a guilty plea.

Cory Johnathan Dowell

“The maximum statutory penalty is a fine of $2 million and/or imprisonment for a term of 40 years, plus a term of supervised release,” the court papers state. “There is a mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment for a term of five years.”
Dowell printed his name on the 11th page of the 12-page document, indicating his acceptance of the plea agreement.
“I am pleading guilty as described above because I am in fact guilty and because I believe it is in my best interest to do so and not because of any threats or promises,” the agreement states. “There has been no promise made whatsoever by any agent or employee of the United States to me as to what the final disposition of this matter will be.”
The court will follow the sentencing guidelines for cases in which the defendant is charged with distributing a mixture of more than 50 but less than 200 grams. However, prosecutors will recommend a sentence at the low end of the guideline range, the document states.
Should Dowell accept responsibility for illegal conduct, then the prosecutors “will recommend the court grant me a two-level reduction in my offense level,” the court papers say.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled Oct. 8.
Carroll County Circuit Court records indicate that Dowell had faced charges of possession of a schedule II drug from last August, but those charges were dropped by the state court.
Dowell had been charged last year after an investigation by the Twin County Drug Task Force.