ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Twenty-five individuals allegedly involved in drug and firearm trafficking in Manassas, Va., were charged in federal court following a two-year investigation by federal and local law enforcement intent on penetrating drug distribution and crime networks in Manassas. More than 20 individuals were also charged today on state offenses as a result of this investigation.

            Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Rich Marianos, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; Charlie T. Deane, Prince William County Chief of Police; Stan Barry, Fairfax County Sheriff; Douglas W. Keen, Manassas City Chief of Police; Colonel John Evans, Manassas Park Chief of Police; and Colonel David Rohrer, Fairfax County Chief of Police; John Hackman, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement.

            In eight indictments and five criminal complaints unsealed today, the 25 individuals allegedly include sources of supply, mid-level dealers and street-level dealers accused of distributing crack cocaine, powder cocaine, and heroin, along with those selling illegal firearms. The investigation, dubbed “Operation Bull Run,” is being conducted by the Northern Virginia Violent Crime Task Force, which was formalized last year out of a strong partnership among federal and local law enforcement to better coordinate in the fight against violent crime.

Those charged allegedly represent various armed drug trafficking rings that all shared one goal: to make as much money as possible by selling drugs in and near Manassas. By design, much of the alleged drug trafficking involved frequent drug sales consisting of relatively small amounts of narcotics to hundreds of users over many years. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement engaged in 215 controlled buys of drugs and firearms, which prior to the arrests resulted in seizures of 85 firearms, 500 grams of crack cocaine and two kilograms of powder cocaine. The approximate total street value of illegal narcotics purchased or seized during the scope of this investigation approaches $1.1 million.

            “Selling illegal drugs and firearms harms the quality of life in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride.  "Today's arrests will send a message that law enforcement will aggressively pursue those who would harm our communities for personal profit regardless of how much drugs they are alleged to have sold. Our local law enforcement partners are to be commended for their outstanding work on this long-term investigation.”

“ATF, along with our partners on the Northern Virginia Violent Crime Task Force, continue to focus our efforts on those who have no qualms about harming a community’s quality of life,” said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Rich Marianos.  “Thanks to the dedicated men and women on this task force we removed over 80 guns and several pounds of illegal narcotics from the streets of Prince William County, and in particular the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.”

“The culmination of this case is a great example of the value of excellent partnerships between local and Federal law enforcement agencies and local and Federal prosecutors,” said Prince William County Police Chief Charlie T. Deane. “These arrests should send a strong message to those considering illegal drug or gun activities.”

            “Today’s arrests reflect the outstanding partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement in combating drug trafficking and violent crime,” said Fairfax Sheriff Stan Barry.  “Getting drugs and guns off the streets will make our communities and residents safer.  I applaud the hard work and dedicated efforts of the men and women who were involved in this case.”  

            “This investigation proves two things; criminals do not care about dotted lines on a map, they cross jurisdictions on a daily basis,” said Chief Douglas Keen of the Manassas City Police Department. “Second, without cooperation and communication with our local and federal law enforcement partners we would not have the resources to close the cases. In effect, these joint operations act as a force multiplier for all of us.”

            According to court documents, conspirators would obtain crack and powder cocaine from sources of supply in Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., or elsewhere and would repackage the cocaine into smaller quantities for resale to increase their profit margins. They would conduct drug transactions out of their homes, in automobiles, or in the parking lots of various business establishments throughout the Manassas area. In many cases, court documents allege that conspirators would bring firearms to drug sales and would often intermingle sales of narcotics with sales of illegal firearms.

            Those charged federally today include:

• Paul Quincy Roberts, a/k/a “P” or “Diddy,” 38, of Manassas, Va., is alleged to be one of the leaders of a large crack cocaine operation in Manassas and is charged with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and four counts of distribution of crack cocaine.

• Anthony Roberts, a/k/a “Noochie,” 22, of Manassas, Va., is alleged to sell crack cocaine for and at the direction of Paul Roberts and is charged with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

• David Oneill Johnson, a/k/a “Jap,” 52, of Manassas, Va., is alleged to assist Paul Roberts in the day-to-day running of his crack cocaine operation and is charged with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and one count of distribution of crack cocaine.

• Brady Baxter Scott, a/k/a “Supa Shug,” 36, of Manassas, Va., is alleged to receive crack cocaine from Paul Roberts and sells to customers in the Irongate area of Manassas. He is charged with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and one count of distribution of crack cocaine.

• Albert Arthur Timbers, a/k/a “Ceed” or “Johnny,” 44, of Manassas, Va., is allegedly part of the Paul Roberts trafficking organization and is charged with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and one count of distribution of crack cocaine.

• Ondray Dyral Jackson, a/k/a “Belly,” 31, Manassas, Va., is allegedly part of the Paul Roberts trafficking organization and is charged with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and one count of distribution of crack cocaine.

• Chakiya Elise Hill, a/k/a “Shay,” 28, of Manassas, Va., is allegedly part of the Paul Roberts trafficking organization and is charged with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine.

• Dale Christopher Caison, 20, of Manassas, Va., is charged with illegally possessing a revolver after previously being convicted of a felony.

• Lamont Macon, a/k/a “Mini,” 37, of Manassas, Va., and Rochella Payne, a/k/a “Baldy,” 32, of Manassas City, Va., are charged with conspiring to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine. Court documents also allege that the pair distributed heroin to individuals working with law enforcement on multiple occasions.

• Dwight Cunigan, 31, of Stafford, Va., is charged with illegally possessing a handgun after previously being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

• Richard Reed, 28, of Manassas, Va., is charged with selling firearms to someone he knows to be a convicted felon.

• Cortez Alexander DeBoise, a/k/a “Screw,” 29, of Manassas, Va., and Laura Rice, 20, of Manassas, Va., are charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Court documents allege that DeBoise met with undercover agents on multiple occasions to sell cocaine and firearms. Rice allegedly assisted DeBoise, including bringing a semi-automatic pistol to a drug and firearm sale and acting as a conduit to DeBoise and his source of supply in New York.

• Luciano Perez-Sorto, a/k/a “Arturo,” “Joker” or “Lucky,” 31, of Manassas, Va., is charged with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. According to court documents, Perez-Sorto frequently sold cocaine to multiple customers from November 2008 to January 2011.

• Angel Ismart Amaya Guerrero, a/k/a “Paysito,” 27, of Manassas, Va., is charged with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Amaya is accused in a criminal complaint of being the source of supply for Perez-Sorto and allegedly threatened a drug customer with a firearm during a transaction when the customer complained about the quality of the cocaine Amaya and Perez-Sorto were attempting to sell.

• Norman Marshall, a/k/a “TJ,” “Cooter” or “Stormin’ Normin,” 34, Manassas, Va., is charged with conspiring to distribute 28 grams or more or crack cocaine. Court documents allege that Marshall has been involved with crack cocaine distribution since the 1990s.

• Larry Savage, a/k/a “Bones,” 46, of Manassas, Va., and Terrill Grayson, a/k/a “Nuddy Brown,” 37, of Manassas, Va., are charged with conspiring together to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine throughout Prince William County and one count each of distribution of crack cocaine.

• Lucinda Willis, 60, of Manassas, Va., is charged with conspiring to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine from April 2009 to September 2010 throughout Prince William County.

• Bruce Early Daszynski, 36, of Manassas, Va., is charged with conspiring to distribute crack cocaine and cocaine from February through October 2010 in Prince William County.

            Twenty-one of those charged were arrested in a coordinated law-enforcement action this morning and will make their initial appearances in federal court this afternoon. Authorities are seeking the public’s help in locating four individuals who have been charged but remain fugitives:

• Anthony Terrell, a/k/a “Worm,” 26, of Manassas, Va., is charged with conspiring to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, including distributing crack on the premises of Dean Middle School.

• William Gregory Ellis, a/k/a “Worm,” 46, of Manassas, Va., is charged with illegally possessing a shotgun after previously being convicted of a felony.

• Brandon Tibbs, 39, of Manassas, Va., is charged with conspiring with Savage and Grayson to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine throughout Prince William County and one count each of distribution of crack cocaine.

• Clifford Lamont Washington, a/k/a “Wee,” 36, of Alexandria, Va., is alleged to sell crack cocaine at the direction of Paul Roberts and also maintain his own customer base. He is charged with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and one count of distribution of crack cocaine.

            Anyone with information regarding these individuals is encouraged to call ATF’s tip line at 1-800-ATF-GUNS (1-800-283-4867) or call the local police department.  If you see these individuals, DO NOT APPROACH THEM. Write down a description and any vehicle information and contact police or ATF.

If convicted on the charges filed today, the defendants face the following penalties:

• Conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine: a maximum of 40 years in prison, though defendants may face enhanced maximum penalties if they have prior criminal records.

• Distribution of crack cocaine: a maximum of 20 years in prison.

• Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime: a maximum of life imprisonment.

• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon: a maximum of 10 years on prison.

• Possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence: a maximum of 10 years in prison.

• Selling a firearm to someone known to be a convicted felon: a maximum of 10 years in prison.

            This case was investigated by ATF, Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, Prince William County Police Department, Manassas City Police Department, Manassas Park Police Department, Fairfax County Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service.  Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Owings and Special Assistant United States Attorney Samuel Kaplan are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

            Criminal indictments and complaints are only charges and not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States 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 http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.

 

 

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