Hampton Man Sentenced For His Participation In Drug Conspiracy

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Sammie Royal, 41, of Hampton, Va., was sentenced Thursday to 262 months in prison, followed by five years supervised release, after pleading guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

            Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Thomas Townsend, Chief of the Hampton Police Division, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis. 

            According to court records, between 2006 and 2011, Royal was involved in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute more than 15 kilograms of cocaine some of which was obtained through a co-conspirator in Texas.  Royal was in possession of a large amount of cocaine which was recovered during execution of a search warrant at a residence on Shell Road in Hampton in October, 2007.  Court records indicate that Royal was a felony “career offender” with drug, firearm, and abduction convictions dating back to 1994.

            This case was investigated by the Hampton Police Division, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the office of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Special Assistant United State Attorney Timothy R. Murphy prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

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 https://pcl.uscourts.gov.