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Press Release

Hampton Roads Heroin Dealer Pleads Guilty to Distribution Resulting in Death

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. – Carlos A. Brown, 45, of Suffolk, pleaded guilty today to distribution of heroin resulting in death.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Brown sold heroin from his Portsmouth residence on County Street from June to November 2015.  On Nov. 18, 2015, Brown contacted one buyer describing his heroin as a “missile.”  Shortly thereafter Brown distributed that heroin and in the early morning hours of Nov. 21, 2015, Ryan Wilson, 27, of Chesapeake, was found dead having used Brown’s heroin.  Even after learning of the death of Ryan Wilson, Carlos Brown continued to sell heroin.  The law enforcement team, made of members of the FBI, Virginia State Police, and the Chesapeake Police Department, made four controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl from Brown before they arrested him on April 21, 2016.

Brown faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 9, 2016. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse and Joseph E. DePadilla are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-67.

Updated July 28, 2016

Topic
Drug Trafficking