Richmond Man Pleads Guilty To Heroin Conspiracy And Gun Possession

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Philip Michael Morris (also known as “Trill Phil”), 27, of Richmond, Va., pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Morris faces a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment when he is sentenced on June 19, 2014.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Morris admitted to working with several co-conspirators to obtain and redistribute heroin in Richmond, Va.  Morris also possessed two firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy, both of which were seized by law enforcement during the investigation.

Several of the defendant’s co-conspirators previously have pleaded guilty.  One co-conspirator, Deonte Lamone Kennedy (also known as “Chop Cold Train”), admitted that the group of heroin dealers discussed the significant risk of their customers dying of heroin overdose.  Kennedy admitted that he told one of his co-conspirators to distance himself from the heroin that the group was selling because it already had caused one overdose death.  Kennedy pleaded guilty on March 14, 2014 to conspiracy to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum term of life imprisonment when he is sentenced on May 29, 2014.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Fairfax County Police Department, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Richmond City Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa L. Owings is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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 at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.