NEWS RELEASE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Julia C. Dudley United States Attorney Brian McGinn Public Affairs Specialist |
BB&T Building 310 1st Street, S.W., Room 906 Roanoke, Virginia 24011 (540) 857-2974 FAX (540) 857-2179 |
May 29, 2009
FINAL THREE DEFENDANTS CONVICTED IN KANTSTOP RECORDS CRACK COCAINE TRAFFICKING CASE BRINGING TOTAL
NUMBER OF CONVICTIONS TO 49
United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley announced today that a federal jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, Virginia convicted the final three members of a cocaine and crack cocaine trafficking organization that had been a target of a year-and-a-half long investigation by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. One year and one day after the case was indicted, Reginald Darwin Morton a/k/a “Novocaine” a/k/a “Boogie” a/k/a “Jay”, 31, Charles Jermaine King, Jr., a/k/a “Zig-lah” a/k/a “Ziggy”, 32, and Tyson Anderson, 22, all of Burlington, NC, were convicted after a four-day jury trial in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, Virginia. Morton was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine and less than 500 grams or more of cocaine, King was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 5 grams or more of crack cocaine, and Anderson was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and cocaine and one count of possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine. To date, forty-nine defendants charged in the conspiracy have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty of charges associated with the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine.
According to evidence presented at trial by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Lee, Morton, King and Anderson were members of the drug trafficking organization headed by Derrick Lamont Evans, Oedipus Mumphrey, and Kerry Donnell Lee, all of Burlington, North Carolina. Evidence was presented that the main distributors of the conspiracy were individuals from Burlington, NC, many of whom were associated with Kantstop Records, Inc., a rap music production company of which Derrick Lamont Evans was the president and CEO, and King was an artist performing under the name “Zig-lah”. The evidence presented showed that the crack cocaine trafficking organization transported large quantities of powder cocaine and crack cocaine to Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee between January 2003 and April 30, 2008. The United States presented evidence that King had traveled to the area to sell cocaine and crack cocaine for the organization in 2005 along with the other members of Kantstop Records, Inc. Further evidence demonstrated that Morton had been brought to the area by Oedipus Mumphrey as a sub-distributor for the organization and that Morton sold crack cocaine at a number of area hotels during 2006 and from a trailer park on Andersen Street in Bristol, Tennessee during 2007. During the investigation, $17,000.00 in United States currency was seized from Morton following a traffic stop in Johnson City, Tennessee. Finally, evidence was presented that Anderson had also been a sub-distributor for the organization operating out of a house on Buchanan Street in Bristol, Virginia during November 2007.
Morton faces a potential maximum sentence of life imprisonment and an $8,000,000.00 fine. Based upon sentencing enhancements filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for his prior conviction for a felony drug offense, Morton faces a mandatory minimum sentence of twenty years imprisonment. King faces a potential maximum sentence of life imprisonment and an $8,000,000.00 fine. He also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment based upon sentencing enhancements filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for his prior convictions for a felony drug offenses. Anderson faces a potential maximum sentence of forty years imprisonment and $2,000,000.00 in fines. Sentencing for these defendants has been scheduled for August 24, 2009 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Bristol, Tennessee Police Department, Bristol, Virginia Police Department, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department, Abingdon Police Department, Washington County, Virginia Sheriff’s Department, Virginia State Police, Johnson City Police Department, and the 2nd Judicial District Drug Task Force. The investigation was assisted by the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office, Washington County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, City of Bristol Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee of the United States Attorney’s Office in Abingdon is prosecuting the case.