Virginia drug trafficking organization dismantled after 17 members plead guilty

A two-year investigation has led 17 members of a drug trafficking organization in Hampton Roads to plead guilty to their individual roles in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and other drugs.

According to court documents, the conspirators procured the drugs from out-of-state sources and had it shipped to Virginia to mid-level distributors in wholesale quantities from February 2021 to October 2023. California suppliers shipped packages of narcotics hidden in stuffed animals to the conspirators.

As part of the conspiracy, fentanyl was distributed in the form of pressed imitation prescription pills purporting to be Roxicodone.

Additional individuals used their residences to receive, store and process the drugs.

The case involved special agents, task force officers, detectives, investigators, officers and other personnel, who reviewed thousands of phone calls and text communications and worked with confidential informants to identify and dismantle this large network of narcotics distributors.

Drug trafficking leaders pleading guilty

• Corey Wright, 47, of Chesapeake, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 1 and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison
• Malik Dillard, aka “Mayo,” 48, of Virginia Beach, pled guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, sentenced to 30 years in prison

Mid-level distributors pleading guilty

• Sebastien Balthazar, 25, of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, sentenced to three years in prison
• Darryl Deangelo Bond, 40, of Chesapeake, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute cocaine, scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 6, faces up to 20 years in prison
• Jessica Brunelle, 40, of Norfolk, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute cocaine and fentanyl, scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10, 2025, faces up to 20 years in prison
• Clyde Byrd Jr., 31, of Norfolk, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 3, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison
• Christopher Eanes, 38, of Chesapeake, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 18, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison
• Julius Justin Freeze, 34, of Virginia Beach, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12, faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison
• Leo Charles Frueh, 43, of Virginia Beach, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10, 2025, faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison
• Jared Wayne Haddock, 46, of Virginia Beach, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. On May 17, Haddock was sentenced to 15 years and six months in prison
• Jesse Ryan Martin, 34, of Norfolk, sentenced to 12 years in prison
• Richard Olsak-Finn, 44, of Chesapeake, scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 4
• Akime Russell Porter, 41, of Norfolk, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 17, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison
• Bryan Austin Ruscoe, 27, of South Mills, N.C., pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3, faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison
• Holly Elizabeth Triplett, 37, of Portsmouth, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 28, 2025, faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison

Guilty pleas related to residences used in the operation

• Aimee Brooke Yanez, 45, of Suffolk, pled guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises, scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 6, faces up to 20 years in prison
• Lisa Michelle Clark, 46, of Norfolk, pled guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises, scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 1, faces up to 20 years in prison

This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation. This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.