NEWS RELEASE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Julia C. Dudley Acting United States Attorney Brian McGinn Public Affairs Specialist |
BB&T Building 310 1st Street, S.W., Room 906 Roanoke, Virginia 24011 (540) 857-2974 FAX (540) 857-2179 |
August 11, 2008
FOUR MEMBERS OF DRUG DISTRIBUTION ENTERPRISE PLEAD GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY CHARGE
Acting United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley announced today that Danny Lee Peoples, age 38, of Galax, Virginia, Shawn Dewayne Randle, age 36, of Winston Salem, North Carolina, Tommy Lamont Jones, age 33, of Galax, Virginia and Cory Vernice Robinson, age 39, of Galax, Virginia, pled guilty today in United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke on charges related to a drug distribution organization.
“I am pleased that these four men have accepted responsibility for their actions and will be punished accordingly,” Acting United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley said today. “The men and women who investigated this case should be commended for the hard work and long hours spent brining these defendants to justice.”
All four men, along with Gordon Ray Jones Jr., age 31, of Galax Virginia, Tony Michael Brown, age 51, of Galax Virginia and Jonathan Brown, age 43, of Galax, Virginia, were charged in a 31-count indictment on December 13, 2007 and charged with conspiracy to possess and possess with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine. In addition, each man was charged with additional, individual possession and distribution charges.
In court today, Peoples, Randle, Tommy Jones and Robinson pled guilty to count one of the indictment, charging each of them with conspiring to possess and possess with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine. Gordon Jones previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy on July 18, 2008. Hearings for Jonathan Brown and Tony Michael Brown are scheduled for the near future.
The maximum penalty faced by each defendant in a term of life imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $4,000,000. There is also a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years associated with the conspiracy charge. However, Gordon Jones and Peoples face a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years imprisonment because of certain sentence enhancements imposed by the United States Attorney’s Office. All four men who pled guilty today will have separate sentencing hearings on November 18, 2008.
According to evidence, all four of the men who pled guilty today in District Court, and Gordon Jones, were members of a crack cocaine distribution organization called “The Enterprise.”
These men, and others, sold crack cocaine in an area of Galax, Virginia known as “The Hill.” This area, historically known for the presence of crack cocaine dealers, has only one street, Calloway Street, that allows vehicles to enter “The Hill, making it relatively easy for the co-conspirators to be aware, and control, who entered “The Hill.”
As a result, often times the co-conspirators simply stood outside in the open and sold crack cocaine to passing cars, using lookouts to warn the sellers when law enforcement agents were entering the hill. The investigation revealed that on more than one occasion, members of the conspiracy sold crack cocaine from a parking lot of a local church. Other times, the co-conspirators used homes located within “The Hill” to meet with buyers and sell crack cocaine.
The investigation of the case was conducted by Drug Enforcement Administration, the Virginia State Police and the Twin County Drug Task Force. The Twin County Drug Task Force is made up of officers from Galax, Carroll and Grayson counties. Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day is prosecuting the case for the United States.