NEWPORT NEWS, VA—Kelvin L. Brown (a.k.a. “Doom”), 34, of Newport News, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury of participating in a decade-long conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. Brown also was convicted of two counts of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.

According to court records and evidence at trial, Brown was arrested by Newport News police on Sept. 13, 2013 in a barricaded apartment with a firearm, a scale and cocaine. The evidence showed that Brown and his co-conspirators distributed crack and powder cocaine in the Newport News area beginning in the early 2000s, and they possessed firearms in order to protect the drug conspiracy and its proceeds. Brown also made threats against a cooperating witness during the course of the case.

Brown will be sentenced on Dec. 8, 2014. On the drug conspiracy conviction, Brown faces a mandatory term of five years and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. On the two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Brown faces a combined mandatory minimum term of 30 years in prison. On the felon-in-possession conviction, Brown faces a maximum of ten years in prison.

This investigation was led by FBI and the Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the Newport News Police, Virginia State Police, and Newport News Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick and Trial Attorney Joseph K. Wheatley from the Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division 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. 4:13-cr-110.