Cleveland Drug Dealer to Spend More Than 14 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking and Firearms Offenses

CLEVELAND – A Cleveland man with a history of violence and drug crimes has been sentenced to prison for his role in running an illegal drug trafficking scheme.

Clarence Payne, 40, was sentenced to 170 months (14 years and 2 months) in prison by U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Barker after a federal jury found him guilty of the following charges:

• Distribution of Cocaine.
• Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
• Felon in Possession of a Firearm; prior convictions include Drug Trafficking in 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2011, and Aggravated Assault and Drug Possession in 2011.
• Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine.
• Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Fentanyl.

Payne was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment. Judge Barker imposed the sentence Nov. 18.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, during the summer of 2023, Payne regularly supplied co-conspirator Harold Pearl, 41, of Cleveland, with cocaine that Pearl sold on the west side of Cleveland. Pearl arranged deals with buyers before he met with Payne to secure the drug amounts needed. Once he sold the drugs, Pearl returned to Payne’s home with the drug proceeds. Payne supplied Pearl with cocaine which was sold to undercover agents six separate times in June, July, and August 2023. Payne was arrested at his home, where multiple bags of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl were located. Law enforcement also seized a firearm and drug paraphernalia from the home.

Co-defendant Pearl pleaded guilty to his role in the drug trafficking. In January 2025, he was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to serve three years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the Cleveland Division of Police and numerous regional and federal agencies as part of a summer violent crime reduction effort in 2023.

Assistant United States Attorneys Adam J. Joines and Jennifer King led the prosecution for the Northern District of Ohio.