“King of Death” Supplier Sentenced to 37 Years

NORFOLK, Va. – A New Jersey man was sentenced today to 37 years in prison for supplying a Chesapeake drug dealer with heroin and fentanyl known as “King of Death.”

According to court documents, Clark supplied local ringleader, Erskine Dawson, Jr., with heroin and fentanyl from September to December 2016 while co-supplier, Kenneth Stuart, aka “Bones,” aka “Brutal,” was incarcerated on state charges. Clark concealed the narcotics in stuffed animals and trafficked them from New Jersey to Virginia where he would stay for days at a time to oversee Dawson’s operation, which was based out of a Studios 4 Less motel in Virginia Beach. Clark supplied Dawson with thousands of wax baggies containing heroin and fentanyl stamped with labels like “King of Death,” “Last Call,” “Mad Max,” “Bentley,” “No Evil,” “Black Dynamite,” “Superman,” “Tango Cash,” “Moneybag,” “Tower of Power,” and “Steph Curry.”

On Sept. 7, 2016, H.D. consumed fentanyl supplied by Dawson via Clark and suffered a fatal overdose. On Nov. 14, 2016, G.M. consumed heroin supplied by Dawson via Clark and suffered a fatal overdose. On Dec. 8, 2016, the DEA in partnership with officers from the Virginia Beach and Chesapeake police departments executed search warrants on motels in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Norfolk, made arrests, and seized guns and over 1,800 wax baggies of heroin and fentanyl.  From September to December 2016 over $70,000 cash was deposited by members of this conspiracy into a Wells Fargo account controlled by Clark.

Seven of the eight co-conspirators have been sentenced. Clark’s co-defendant, Kenneth Stuart, faces a mandatory term of life imprisonment when he is sentenced on April 24.

Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, and Kelvin L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse, Daniel T. Young, and William D. Muhr 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-61 and 2:17-cr-92.