HAZARD – A Hazard man convicted of drug trafficking was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison during a court appearance last week.

Richard “Buckethead” Combs, 58, was indicted this year on charges that on March 5 he possessed methadone and hydrocodone with the intent to sell both drugs. He was convicted during a jury trial in October on one count each of first and second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance. Following his conviction, the jury recommended Combs spend a total of 15 years in prison.

Combs’ attorney, Jeremy Morgan, requested during a sentencing hearing on Thursday that Circuit Judge Bill Engle take into account Combs’ past criminal history, which only included traffic violations, before handing down a formal sentence. But Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Charles Allen noted that his office and Combs were unable to come to a mutually agreeable plea deal prior to the trial, and Combs opted to allow the jury to decide what sort of punishment was appropriate if found guilty. Allen requested that Engle follow the jury’s recommendation.

Following the comments, Engle sentenced Combs in accordance with the jury’s recommendation, sentencing him to 10 years for one count of first-degree trafficking and five years on one count of second-degree trafficking. The sentences are to run consecutively for a total of 15 years. He was credited with 43 days spent in jail prior to his sentencing.

Though she was found not guilty on several charges she faced during the same trial, Combs’ wife, Betty, was convicted on one count of possession of a controlled substance by complicity. She received her sentence last week as well.

In lieu of jail time, Engle sentenced Betty Combs to serve five years of supervised probation. Conditions of the probation include that she not be charged with any further crimes and that she must complete a 10 week outpatient substance abuse program.