BECKLEY — Former physician and sheriff Danny R. Wills was sentenced to six months in federal prison Thursday, for fraudulently obtaining hydrocodone pills.

After calculating a series of factors involved in the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Irene Berger handed down the six-month sentence, along with provisions for one year of supervised release, a $100 special assessment and $863.54 in restitution for the pills he admitted ordering with funds allocated for the Mercer County Sheriff's Department.

In explaining the sentence, Berger said she had seen the evidence that Wills had served the Mercer County community for many years “in a very respectable manner.” But, even the years of service and a guilty plea agreement weren't enough to convince the judge prison time wasn't warranted.

“I consider the offense to be one that is very serious,” Berger said, explaining that Wills had abused a position of trust in the community, his special skill as a physician and the county taxpayers' funds to order pills for his own use.

Wills graduated from West Virginia University Medical School and had spent 28 years as a physician, in addition to working a stint as a West Virginia State Police officer. In 2004, Wills was elected sheriff, and he won re-election in November 2008.

Just months after voters cast their confidence in Wills for a second time, news of an investigation surfaced. In May, Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Investigator Dominic Grant executed a search warrant on Wills' offices at the Mercer County Courthouse, locating 173 hydrocodone pills, several patient files and order information indicating Wills had ordered hydrocodone and alprazolam from a company known as GIV, in Bland County, Va. He reportedly paid for those pills with money budgeted by the Mercer County Commission for the Mercer County Sheriff's Department.

At first, Wills assured the community that his only infraction was operating a free clinic he reported running from his courthouse headquarters. A United States attorney's media release issued after his plea agreement indicated, however, that Wills admitted to officers that he consumed up to six hydrocodone tablets per day for up to two years, while on the job. In addition, he allegedly admitted to ordering the alprazolam, the generic version of Xanax, allegedly to prescribe to family members. The investigation uncovered that Wills actually consumed some of those medications himself also.

Throughout the investigation, Wills' attorney Mark Wills repeatedly told media representatives that the actions under scrutiny did not involve Danny Wills' performance as sheriff.

Thursday, Berger said she disagreed completely.

“He was a sheriff. He was the face of that office. He was the face of law enforcement in Mercer County,” the judge said, explaining the severity of the offense she saw in Wills' case.

Mark Wills, along with co-counsel William Flanigan, requested originally that Berger consider probation or home confinement for the man even the judge said had lived as a “model citizen.”

“Mr. Wills has accepted responsibility for his crime. He has cooperated with the U.S. government from Day One,” Mark Wills said.

Wills reportedly met with government attorneys, West Virginia State Police and U.S. Postal Service officials to discuss any information on other investigations he may possess, Mark Wills said. Defense counsel also pointed out that Wills surrendered his service revolver, his license to practice medicine and his office as sheriff, as the investigation unfolded.

“He, up until this point in his life, has led an exemplary life,” Mark Wills said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Schwartz clarified that though Wills had talked with investigators, there was no evidence the information he provided would be useful in prosecuting anyone else.

Wills took the opportunity to speak briefly for himself.

“I do assume responsibility. I am sorry for my actions,” he said. “I want to get on with my life.”

Part of moving on, Mark Wills said, was a plan to enroll in a rehabilitation program at a Williamsburg, Va., clinic. The program runs 90 days, at a cost of $40,000. Participation in that program was one of the reasons Mark Wills said he requested a probation sentence for his client.

Although Berger referred several times during the hearing to the service Wills had offered the community throughout his law enforcement and medical careers, she emphasized that prior service could not diminish the seriousness of the offense at hand and that whatever sentence she imposed should promote respect for the law and deter future crimes.

“You tainted both professions,” she said.

The judge admonished Wills for violating the public trust and putting the entire sheriff's department in a dangerous situation, but after hearing no argument from the state or the defense, she allowed Wills to remain free on the same $10,000 surety bond he was previously place on and to self-report to a federal prison upon notification that there was a facility and a bed ready for him.

Mark Wills said his client was ready to begin serving his time immediately, if necessary.

“He wants to get his life back in order,” Mark Wills said.

The judge wished him well.

“I consider you to be a relatively young man who still has some life ahead of you,” Berger said. “…I wish you the best.”

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.