Man Sentenced to Prison for Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

RICHMOND, Va. – An Emporia man was sentenced today to more than 15 1/2 years in prison for his role in a multi-kilograms cocaine ring in Emporia.

According to court documents, Rondell Lundy, 32, entered into a conspiracy to distribute cocaine beginning in 2013 to 2017. From February 2017 through June 28, 2017, FBI agents monitored a court-ordered wiretap on several cellular telephones being used by conspiracy leader Deron Powell. Lundy was intercepted on numerous occasions speaking with Powell, and others, negotiating for the purchase of cocaine. Federal and state law enforcement conducted surveillance of Powell, as well as various residences in the Emporia area, and corroborated Lundy’s involvement in a conspiracy to distribute the cocaine. Intercepted recorded calls confirmed that Powell planned to purchase kilogram quantities of cocaine for approximately $35,000, and on one occasion, agreed to sell half of that kilogram to Lundy. As part of the plea agreement, Lundy admitted he is responsible for distributing four and one-half kilograms of cocaine.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Area Violent Enterprises Task Force, as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force’s (OCDETF), Operation Bulls Eye. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, David W. Archey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Ricky Pinksaw, Chief of the Emporia Police Department, William T. Jarratt Jr., Sheriff of the Greensville County Sheriff’s Office, and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter S. Duffey 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. 3:19-cr-14.