NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to 11 years in prison for his role in a fentanyl and heroin distribution ring that led to multiple overdoses and at least one death.
According to court documents, 29-year-old Deshawn Jones dealt heroin and fentanyl as part of a Hampton Roads-based group that sold powerful narcotics to individuals from South Hampton Roads and the Outer Banks region of North Carolina.
On Nov. 23, 2018, Jones sold a mixture of fentanyl and heroin to a person who used the drugs, overdosed and died as a result.
Jones continued to sell narcotics after learning of the person’s death, and when police executed a search warrant at his Portsmouth home in June 2019, they found fentanyl, heroin, and a loaded semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.
The prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.