Fairfax Station: Sentence in Drug Possession, Distribution Case

12-year sentence handed to Fairfax Station man for possessing and distributing heroin and oxycodone.

Thirty-two-year-old Michael Ryan Martin of Fairfax Station was sentenced to serve 12 years in prison for possessing and conspiracy to distribute heroin and oxycodone, according to a Dec. 11 release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Martin’s sentence is set to conclude with three years of supervised release.

Court documents show Martin distributed oxycodone tablets illegally between Aug. 14, 2014 and June 1, 2015, then used that revenue to buy heroin. He turned around and sold a portion of that as well, the release said.

Martin was ordered to hand over $71,840, in addition to his jail time, as his illegal profits.

One of Martin’s heroin customers, 30-year-old Christopher Ritchie, died shortly after shooting some of the drug Martin sold to him. His death was ruled as heroin poisoning.

The Dec. 11 release also said Martin was found to have obstructed the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation of Ritchie’s death by giving false statements to detectives.