Ernest Cross, Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Five members of a Portsmouth based heroin and fentanyl ring pleaded guilty to charges related to their role in the conspiracy on Thursday.
Court records state that from March 2012 to July 2016, 33-year-old Nathaniel Powell, 38-year-old Ernest Cross, 25-year-old Detuan Gordon, 55-year-old Valerie Wilson, and 33-year-old Marque Wilson conspired to manufacture and distribute over 1,000 grams of heroin.
Marque Wilson, Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin.
The group got most of their supply from Baltimore. Once they received the narcotics they were repackaged using a press machine and gel capsules for retail sales.
The group served as a supply for other individuals in the Outer Banks and North Carolina.
The group was busted after police executed a search warrant of Gordon’s home in December. Opiates, scales, drug paraphernalia, and firearms were recovered.
Gordon was a convicted felon who possessed an AK-47 style rifle as well as a handgun.
When police arrested Gordon on June 8 they recovered nearly $50,000 in cash, a firearm, heroin, and fentanyl.
Valerie Wilson was arrested on June 2 after selling five grams of heroin with her 6-year-old grandson in her vehicle.
Nathaniel Powell, Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin.
Two members of the group also led police on two separate vehicle pursuits. Marque Wilson was arrested on June 10 with cocaine and heroin in his possession as he attempted to elude police.
Powell is a paraplegic from a gunshot wound and used a cane to drive while in a pursuit with authorities. Police eventually recovered seven grams of fentanyl from Powell.
Valerie Wilson, Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin.
After Powell was arrested he threatened to kill someone who he believed was working with police against him.
The group was charged with a 20 count indictment on July 20. Charges included, but were not limited to, Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Gordon faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a max penalty of life. Cross and Powell face mandatory minimum sentences of five years and a max penalty of 40 years in prison. The Wilson’s face a max sentence of 20 years in prison.
The fifth member’s picture is not available at this time.
