A Pineville man was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison on Monday.

Charles Hubbard, 57, was sentenced in federal court following a conviction after a yearlong investigation by detectives from Appalachia Narcotics Investigations.

Hubbard was caught on three separate occasions in Harlan and Bell County with a total of 225 grams of crystal meth.

In January 2018, Hubbard was arrested by trooper Brandon Burton for being in possession of 2 ounces of crystal meth. In June 2018, trooper Jake Spurlock arrested Hubbard for being in possession of 5 ounces of crystal meth. Both of these arrests stemmed from traffic safety checkpoints in Harlan County.

The press release states troopers Burton and Spurlock contacted detectives with ANI, who had been receiving complaints about Hubbard. It was learned that Hubbard was traveling to Tennessee and being supplied with large amounts of crystal meth, coming back to his residence in Bell County, then distributing the majority of the crystal meth in Harlan County.

According to the press release, Hubbard is believed to have been supplying crystal meth to the Watts Creek, Dayhoit, Wallins Creek, Bledsoe and Loyal communities of Harlan County. He was also in possession of a stolen motorcycle from Virginia. Deputies from the Bell County Sheriff’s Office recovered the motorcycle and returned it to its owner.

In August 2018, a traffic stop on Hubbard by Bell County Sheriff’s Office K9 and trooper Jason Young was made in Bell County. Another ounce of crystal meth was found in his possession. Hubbard was approached by ANI detectives where he admitted to bringing between 12 and 14 ounces of crystal meth per month to Harlan County between January 2018 and July 2018.

Officials state federal authorities adopted the case due to the amount of crystal meth Hubbard had been in possession of and the crime crossing state lines. Hubbard is a convicted felon and a move-in registered sex offender from Ohio.

This case is the result of a combined effort of all participating agencies of Appalachia Narcotics Investigation (Harlan County Sheriff’s Office, Bell County Sheriff’s Office, Pineville Police Department and the Kentucky State Police) plus troopers from Post 10 and deputies from both Bell County Sheriff’s Office and Harlan County Sheriff’s Office.

Great appreciation also goes to the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Kentucky.