Member of Drug Organization Sentenced to 28 Years
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 25, 2012 |
NEWPORT NEWS, VA—Robert Edward Sargent, Jr., 43, of Newport News was sentenced to 28 years for his participation in a complex drug trafficking network operating between New York, California, and the Peninsula.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis. Sargent pled guilty on March 28, 2012, to directing a criminal enterprise that was responsible for distributing between 50 to 150 kilograms of cocaine.
Sargent was charged, along with several co-defendants, in a superseding indictment returned on January 10, 2012. According to court documents, Sargent ran a drug organization, located in the Aquaduct Apartments and Woodlawn Apartments in the Denbigh area of Newport News, responsible for dealing cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana. Sources of supply in New York, California, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas distributed quantities of drugs to Sargent for further distribution on the Virginia Peninsula. Beginning in 2000, Sargent was bringing in multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from New York for redistribution. The drug proceeds were then transported back to New York. At some point in 2009-2010, Sargent began receiving shipments of drugs from California and then having the bulk currency payments hand-delivered back to California. He employed a large network of couriers and distributors to make his organization successful. During the course of the conspiracy, Sargent had approximately $250,000 seized by law enforcement or stolen by co-conspirators, yet he continued his operation.
This case was investigated by FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Newport News Police Department, and the Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Eric Hurt is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at www.justice.gov/usao/vae.