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Department of Justice United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, September 9, 2009 |
CONTACT: Brian McGinn PHONE: 540-857-2974 FAX: 540-857-2179 EMAIL: Brian.McGinn@usdoj.gov www.usdoj.gov/usao/vaw |
TWO MEMBERS OF DRUG CONSPIRACY SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
Paul Vaughn and Douglas Stallworth Were Involved in Crack Cocaine Dealings
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA -- Two members of a crack cocaine conspiracy that operated in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee will spend the rest of their lives behind bars after being sentenced yesterday to life sentences for their drug crimes.
Paul Alston Vaughn, Jr., 26, of Burlington, NC, and Douglas Lee Stallworth, 38, of Bristol, Va., were both sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday in U.S. District Court in Abingdon. Vaughn had previously pleaded guilty on October 6, 2008, to the charge of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine. Stallworth was convicted by a jury on October 27, 2008, of the charge of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine following a three-day jury trial.
According to evidence presented at Vaughn’s guilty plea, Stallworth’s trial, and the sentencing hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Lee, in January 2007, law enforcement agents from multiple agencies began targeting a large scale crack cocaine distribution organization operating in Southwest Virginia, Northeast Tennessee, and North Carolina.
This drug trafficking organization was lead by Derrick Lamont Evans, Oedipus Mumphrey, and Kerry Donnell Lee, all of Burlington, North Carolina. The drug-trafficking organization had been operating in the region since at least 2003 and was originally organized by the members of KANTSTOP RECORDS, Inc., a music production company based out of Burlington, NC. KANTSTOP RECORDS, Inc., was a music production company incorporated in the state of Tennessee in 2003 by Derrick Lamont Evans (aka “Shank”), 34, of Gray, Tenn., and Bryant Kelly Pride (aka “Pride”), 36, of Bristol, Va.
Evans was listed as the President and Pride was listed as the Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer of KANTSTOP RECORDS, Inc., which sponsored the musicians Marcus Andrew Watkins (aka “Sparkz”), 30, Andre Lamont Watkins (“Huff da Author”), 30, and Tyree Lamar Slade (“Ovious Mcfly”), 26, all of Burlington, NC, who made up the music group “Fam 1st.” Charles Jermaine King, 31, also of Burlington, was also sponsored by KANTSTOP RECORDS, Inc., and performed under the name “Zig-Lah.”
Further evidence demonstrated that the members of KANTSTOP RECORDS and had been distributing crack cocaine in the Bristol region since at least 2003, and consistently recruited friends and associates from the Burlington, North Carolina area to transport and distribute large quantities of crack cocaine into a geographic region that ranged from Sullivan County, Tennessee north to Washington County and Russell County, Virginia. In addition, many individuals from Virginia and Tennessee were recruited by Pride, Evans, Mumphrey and others from Burlington, NC., to be street-level dealers of crack cocaine, drivers to transport crack cocaine into the area, and to provide houses from which cocaine could be transformed into crack cocaine and from which crack cocaine could be stored and sold.
Evidence demonstrated that Stallworth was a street level distributor of crack cocaine in Bristol, Virginia and that in approximately 2002 he introduced Derrick Evans to Bristol, Virginia and assisted him in establishing his drug trafficking organization in the region. Stallworth continued to distribute crack cocaine on behalf of Derrick Evans throughout the entirety of the conspiracy until his arrest in 2008. The evidence also showed that Vaughn was a high-level distributor and lieutenant to Mumphrey and assisted Mumphrey in the transportation of at least 7.5 kilograms of cocaine into the Bristol area between 2005-2007. Vaughn and Mumphrey were arrested in November 2007 on Anderson Street in Bristol, Tennessee and found to be in possession of 4 ounces of crack cocaine and $4,000.00 in United States currency.
To date, forty-nine members of the drug trafficking organization have either been found guilty or pleaded guilty to charges associated with the distribution of crack cocaine. Forty members of the drug trafficking organization have been sentenced to a combined total of 4,657 months imprisonment. In addition, six members of the conspiracy have been sentenced to mandatory sentences of life imprisonment based upon their prior convictions for felony drug offenses. Three members of the conspiracy still are awaiting sentencing.
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.