Heroin Dealer Pleads Guilty to Leading Drug Trafficking Organization

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man pleaded guilty today to leading a family-run heroin trafficking conspiracy which distributed large quantities of heroin in Virginia.

“Mr. Joe led a large-scale heroin trafficking conspiracy for many years in Hampton Roads,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Investigating and prosecuting heroin and fentanyl trafficking crimes is a top priority of this office as we continue to battle this deadly epidemic. I want to thank our investigative partners at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Norfolk for their terrific work on this important case.”

According to court documents, William Arthur Joe, aka Pops, aka Unc, aka Rudy K, 67 of Hampton, was the leader of a large heroin trafficking organization on the Virginia Peninsula. The organization received heroin from sources of supply in New York and New Jersey and would then sell it in the Hampton Roads area. As head of the organization, Joe employed multiple family members and acquaintances to distribute the heroin. Joe’s organization was the focus of a two-year investigation involving controlled purchases of heroin, law enforcement surveillance and multiple court authorized wire taps. The Joe organization operated from at least 2014 until Joe’s arrest in June 2017 and was responsible for distributing more than three kilograms of heroin.

Joe pleaded guilty to continuing criminal enterprise and faces a mandatory 20 years in prison when sentenced on September 24. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt is prosecuting 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-65.