Petersburg Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Multi-Kilo Heroin and Cocaine Distribution

RICHMOND, VA—Ronald Harper, Jr., 48, of Petersburg, Virginia, was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin. He was also ordered to forfeit $150,000 in United States currency and a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber firearm and assorted ammunition.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John I. Dixon, III, Chief of Police for the Petersburg Police Department; and Jeffrey C. Mazanec, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field office, made the announcement after the sentence was imposed today by United States District Judge James R. Spencer.

In the statement of facts filed at the time of his plea hearing in May, Harper admitted that he had conspired to distribute between one and three kilograms of heroin and between two and three-and-a-half kilograms of cocaine from January 2009 through March 6, 2013. Harper admitted to purchasing heroin every month for redistribution into the Petersburg, Virginia community.

At the time of his arrest on March 6, 2013, Harper was in possession of more than $7,000 in cash, which he acknowledged was proceeds from his drug trafficking activities. A search warrant executed at a Petersburg, Virginia residence that was known to be utilized by Harper for distribution of narcotics resulted in the recovery of a six-ton hydraulic press; a suitcase full of drug packaging materials; digital scales; and narcotics, including heroin, marijuana, and cocaine.

This case was investigated by the Petersburg Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted 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 http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.