Ex-W.Va. prison officer pleads to pill charge

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. (AP) - A former federal corrections officer in southern West Virginia has pleaded guilty to a prescription drug charge.

Media outlets report 42-year-old James Howard Butcher of Fayetteville entered the plea Monday to a felony charge of delivery of a controlled substance.

Butcher was employed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Beckley.

Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler says Butcher was arrested in August. Task force officers used a search warrant to confiscate pills, several firearms and more than $4,000 in cash from Butcher’s home.

Butcher faces up to 15 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Sentencing is set for March 10 in Fayette County Circuit Court.