Wilmington Gang Leader Sentenced on Drug and Gun Charges Following Undercover Operation

RALEIGH — The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that today, United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced Victor Eugene Dorm, 30, of Wilmington to 240 months’ imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release. 

On November 14, 2018, DORM pled guilty to five counts: conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine and 28 grams or more of crack cocaine; distribution of a quantity of heroin; manufacture, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base; use and carry a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. 

DORM was the fourth of six co-defendants to be sentenced in this case.  Three men have received sentences ranging from 60 to 204 months:

• On May 23, 2018, Eugene Telphia Grady, Jr., was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment and 6 years of supervised release, following his guilty plea to a charge of conspiring to distribute crack cocaine. 
• On October 3, 2018, James Flowers was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release, following a guilty plea to conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess cocaine and 28 grams of more of crack cocaine; manufacture, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine; and use and carry a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
• Also on October 3, 2018, Sylvester Lorenzo Hooper, Jr., was sentenced to 204 months’ imprisonment and 8 years of supervised release, following his guilty plea to conspiring to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and distribution of a quantity of crack cocaine. 

Two additional co-defendants have entered guilty pleas and have sentencing hearings pending:

• On July 9, 2018, Rufus “Rudy” Parker pled guilty to six counts of distributing cocaine, and on November 30, 2018, he pled guilty to an additional count of conspiring to distribute powder cocaine. 
• On January 22, 2019, Joseph Anthony Vaught pled guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine; and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

Parker and Vaught are currently scheduled to be sentenced in April of this year. 

These convictions are the result of a long-term undercover operation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and officers of the Wilmington Police Department,  beginning in December 2016 and continuing until the return of the federal indictment in August of 2017.  Victor DORM, a principal target of the investigation, was a leader of a subset of the Bloods street gang known as the Bounty Hunter Bloods.  DORM held a leadership role in the gang and had three prior state felony drug convictions and two prior state convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm.   

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement was able to conduct a large numbers of controlled purchases of contraband from each of the six co-defendants, as well as from five additional men who have pled guilty in separate federal cases.   The confidential informant and undercover agents conducted roughly three-dozen transactions, purchasing cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, counterfeit currency, and multiple firearms.  DORM himself made 13 of the sales.  In transactions dating from December 14, 2016, to July 10, 2017, DORM sold the CI nearly 600 doses of heroin, 100 doses of fentanyl, 4 grams of crack cocaine, over $1,000 in counterfeit currency, an M4 assault rifle, a second rifle, and five handguns, including two M-11 9mm pistols with high capacity magazines.  On another occasion, law enforcement witnessed DORM manufacturing crack cocaine. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Wilmington Police Department, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, and the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jake D. Pugh represented the government.