U.S. District Court also will sentence Donna Reeves Oct. 23

Exactly 10 months and one day after being found guilty of seven drug- related charges, former Alleghany County Sheriff's Department Detective Ricky Lyall will face sentencing in federal court.

Lyall is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Richard Vorhees on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 10:40 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Statesville. Vorhees also presided over his trial, at which he was found guilty of seven drug-related charges on the afternoon of January 23 after pleading not guilty. Two of the counts were drug conspiracy charges and the others were possession of cocaine and methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Also facing upcoming sentencing is Donna Faye Atkins Reeves, a Sparta resident who plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Statesville, also before Judge Vorhees, on Jan. 17. Reeves is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, Oct. 23, at 10 a.m.

Reeves plead guilty in an apparent plea agreement to conspiring to possess and distribute oxycontin and methadone on or about June 6, 2003 until Dec. 21, 2004 in Alleghany County. She also plead guilty to aiding and abetting and scheming to defraud health care benefit programs (otherwise known as health care fraud) between Aug. 2, 2003 and Dec. 15, 2004. The total amount of $12,886.33 was taken by fraud, according to the indictments.

The maximum penalty for the conspiracy count is up to 20 years in prison or a $1 million fine or both. The maximum sentence for the fraud count up to 10 years in prison or a $250,000 fine or both.

Lyall Case

Lyall, 34, of Laurel Springs, is facing up to 20 years in prison, all to be served without the possibility of parole. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of North Carolina said soon after Lyall was found guilty that the court will consult federal sentencing guidelines to determine the actual sentence. "Sentences are based on a formula taking into account the severity and characteristics of the offense and each defendant's prior criminal history," the spokesman said. Lyall has no prior criminal convictions. Prosecuting for the government were assistant U.S. attorneys Kenneth M. Smith and Thomas O'Malley.

Suellen Pierce of the U.S. Prosecuting Attorney's Office in Charlotte said a pre-sentencing report is made for each defendant found guilty in federal court by federal probation and parole officers. Lyall's report was finally completed on Sept. 5.

At the time of the trial in January, Lyall's sentencing was expected to take place within 90 days, Judge Vorhees said at the time. However, Lyall's attorney, Kenneth Andresen of Charlotte, filed motions to dismiss some of the charges against Lyall, said Pierce.

The motions, which were ruled on in August, were not allowed by Judge Vorhees.

In a news release following Lyall's conviction, U.S. Attorney Gretchen Shappert commended the work of Federal Bureau of Investigation and State Bureau of Investigation agents and Alleghany Sheriff Mike Caudill.

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