Heroin Dealer Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Overdose Death

NORFOLK, Va. – Carlos A. Brown, 46, of Suffolk, was sentenced today to 360 months in prison for distribution of heroin resulting in death.

According to court documents, Brown sold heroin from his Portsmouth residence from June 2015 to November 2015. On Nov. 18, 2015, Brown contacted one buyer describing the potency of his heroin as a “missile.” He was aware that several of his customers had overdosed, yet sought to obtain more of that same batch of heroin. 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 four controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl from Brown before they arrested him on April 21.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Martin Culbreath, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Kelvin L. Wright, Chief of the Chesapeake Police Department; and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Virginia Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse and Joseph E. DePadilla prosecuted 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.