Baltimore Man Sentenced for Possessing Fentanyl for Distribution in Chesapeake

NORFOLK, Va. – A Baltimore, Maryland man was sentenced today to ten years in prison for possessing fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl, a synthetic fentanyl analog, which he intended to deliver to a co-conspirator in Chesapeake, Virginia.

According to court documents, on November 30, 2022, the Chesapeake Police Department executed a search warrant at the residence of Dorman Winston Mewborn, 36, of Chesapeake, and recovered various substances containing fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Clyde Desmond Ringgold, Jr., 37, of Baltimore, had been supplying Mewborn with narcotics since early 2022.

On December 21, 2022, law enforcement agents conducted surveillance on Ringgold after he arrived on a flight from Baltimore to Norfolk International Airport. Ringgold later drove to Mewborn’s residence, intending to collect on a prior drug debt owed by Mewborn to Ringgold, as well as to deliver two ounces of heroin to Mewborn for $4,000. Once Ringgold arrived outside Mewborn’s residence, officers arrested and searched Ringgold, who was found to possess approximately 40 grams of fentanyl and para-flurofentanyl, along with $2,000 and a cell phone containing multiple pictures of kilograms of controlled substances.

Ringgold previously was convicted in federal court in Baltimore for distribution of heroin, and he was sentenced to serve five years in prison in January 2014. As a result of Ringgold’s criminal record, he qualifies as a career offender under the federal sentencing guidelines.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Mark G. Solesky, Chief of Chesapeake Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. Comstock prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-58.