Gang Member Sentenced to Over 12 Years for Drug and Gun Crimes

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man was sentenced today to 12 1/2 years in prison for distributing crack cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of his distribution of heroin.

According to court documents, Baron Thomas, 35, a member of the Rollin’ 20s gang, was engaged in the distribution of cocaine, cocaine base, heroin and marijuana in Hampton and elsewhere on the Virginia Peninsula. While Thomas was dealing these narcotics, he was frequently in possession of firearms. Thomas and his co-defendant, Julian Rashko, would also distribute heroin and other narcotics from Thomas’ residence in Hampton.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation Brim Reaper. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.  The principle mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:19-cr-80.