CHARLESTON – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced last week that a Lincoln County woman was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for armed robbery of a Hurricane nursing home facility and a Lincoln County bank. Morgan Marie Mullins, 26, of West Hamlin, Lincoln County, W.Va., previously pleaded guilty in August 2012 to interfering with commerce by threats of violence, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and armed bank robbery.

“This case shows in very stark terms the devastating effects of the prescription drug epidemic,” said U.S. Attorney Goodwin. “The defendant’s crimes were shocking and now she has ten years to think about the effects of those crimes.”

Goodwin continued, “As the Court noted, the significance of this sentencing should also serve as a deterrent.”

Mullins admitted that on May 2, 2012, she robbed the Teays Valley Center nursing home located in Hurricane, W.Va. Mullins further admitted that she used a 9-millimeter pistol when she robbed on-duty employees at the nursing home of controlled substances, including prescription painkillers. The defendant was employed at the nursing home at the time of the robbery.

Also on May 22, 2012, Mullins robbed the City National Bank located in West Hamlin, Lincoln County, W.Va. of $3003 cash. Mullins further admitted that she used the same 9-millimeter pistol for both robberies.

On May 23, 2012, Mullins gave a voluntary statement to law enforcement officers where she admitted to robbing the Teays Valley Center and the City National Bank. Law enforcement officers later recovered the 9-millimeter pistol from beneath the defendant’s bed. Officers also recovered a black hat with red and white stripes with the eye holes cut out of it. The hat was found in an alley near the bank that was robbed in Lincoln County. The defendant admitted that she wore the hat as a disguise during the robberies.

The defendant further admitted that at the time of both robberies and for the past three and a half years, she has been addicted to oxycodone.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Steven I. Loew handled the prosecution. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.

This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by working with existing local programs that target gun crime.