Heroin Dealer Sentenced to 35 Years for Overdose Death

NORFOLK, Va. – Gregory Hatt, 29, of Virginia Beach, was sentenced today to 420 months in prison for distribution of heroin resulting in death.

“The heartbreak for the Beaudry family is a tragedy unfolding in nearly every community across our country,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.  “While justice cannot restore the Beaudry’s daughter to their family, law enforcement can continue to aggressively prosecute those who seek to prey upon vulnerable members of our community.  Law enforcement, however, does not possess the complete answer.  We must continue to strive for increases in opioid awareness, education, prevention and treatment so that our communities can ride themselves of this invasive agent of human misery.”

“Burying a child is every parent's worst nightmare and my heart breaks every time I meet a family, like the Beaudrys, that has lost a child to these powerful drugs,” said Mark Herring, Attorney General of Virginia. “These families have such love for their children and they mourn the promising future that men like Gregory Hatt took from them. Even after his drugs claimed a life and shattered a family, Hatt continued to deal heroin and profit from addiction, showing no remorse or recognition of the damage he was causing. As we work to build a comprehensive, community-wide effort to prevent addiction and educate Virginians about the dangers of heroin and prescription opioids, we will continue to partner with U.S. Attorney Boente and local law enforcement to get these deadly drugs off the streets and bring the dangerous criminals that deal them to justice.”

“The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who are driving the deadly heroin wave which is taking lives and destroying families in the Tidewater area, said Tim Quick, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office. “NCIS will use our unique authorities, resources and capabilities in combatting this growing problem, to help protect Sailors, Marines, Department of the Navy civilians and families, and the communities in which we work and live.”

According to court documents, Hatt sold heroin, cocaine, and other narcotics out of a rented house in Virginia Beach from December 2014 through July 2015.  On Dec. 26, 2014, Hatt called Monica Beaudry, a 23-year-old Virginia Beach woman, to come to his house for what he described as “a birthday present.” Hatt distributed heroin to Beaudry and she subsequently displayed signs of an overdose by foaming at the mouth, exhibiting troubled breathing, and losing consciousness.  Others at the house implored Hatt to call 911, but he refused.  Approximately 40 minutes after displaying symptoms of overdose, Beaudry was driven to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.  Hatt became aware of Beaudry’s death, but continued to distribute heroin from his residence and from other Virginia Beach locations for the following seven months.  In February 2015, he distributed heroin to an active duty U.S. Navy sailor stationed on an aircraft carrier in Norfolk.  That sailor and another sailor on the carrier also overdosed.  Both sailors were immediately treated by medical personnel and survived.  On July 24, 2015, law enforcement agents with Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and officers with the Virginia Beach Police Department executed a search warrant on Hatt’s residence and recovered quantities of heroin, cocaine, various drug paraphernalia, and multiple firearms, including a loaded sawed-off shotgun. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, Timothy Quick, Special Agent in Charge for the NCIS Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson announced the sentence.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alyssa Nichol and John F. Butler prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15-cr-153.