Woodford County Woman Sentenced for Fentanyl Trafficking Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury

FRANKFORT, Ky. - A Versailles, Ky., woman, Melissa Wilhoite, 40, was sentenced on Wednesday to 180 months by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove for two counts of distribution of fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury.

According to her plea agreement, on November 22, 2024, emergency personnel responded to an overdose at the Woodford County Detention Center. It was discovered that after Wilhoite's arrest on November 21, 2024, she smuggled a quantity of fentanyl into the facility, and then distributed it to two of her cell mates. Those two victim inmates exhibited signs of an overdose, including loss of consciousness and discoloration, and were transported to a hospital for further treatment. Wilhoite later admitted to distributing fentanyl inside the facility.

Under federal law, Wilhoite must serve 85 percent of her prison sentence. Upon her release from prison, she will each be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.

Paul McCaffrey, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; and Chief Ron Young, Versailles Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA and Versailles Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Walker is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

- END -