Two Men, Including Former Edmonson County Magistrate, Face Federal Indictments for Meth Trafficking

Corey VanMeter, (34) Brownsville.

John E. Marks, 61, of Scottsville

Darren Doyle, story:
A federal grand jury in Bowling Green, Kentucky, returned an indictment on May 15, 2024, charging two men with methamphetamine trafficking, one of which is a former magistrate of Edmonson County.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Louisville Field Division, Erek Davodwich, Commissioner Phillip Burnett, Jr. of the Kentucky State Police, and Sheriff Brandon Ford of the Allen County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement.

According to the indictment, on March 22, 2024, John E. Marks, 61, of Scottsville, Kentucky, and Samuel Corey VanMeter, 34, of Brownsville, Kentucky, possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in Allen County, Kentucky.

Marks made his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on May 20, 2024. VanMeter made his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on May 21, 2024.

VanMeter served as an Edmonson County Magistrate in District 2 from 2019 to 2022.

Both defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

There is no parole in the federal system.

The DEA Bowling Green Resident Agency and the Allen County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case with the assistance of the Kentucky State Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Yurchisin II, of the U.S. Attorney’s Bowling Green Branch Office, is prosecuting this case.
 
An indictment is only a formal charge and is not an admission of guilt. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.