NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal grand jury charged nine people Wednesday with participating in a drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy.
Alex Burnett, 37, of Hampton, is charged with being the head of a criminal organization operating on the Peninsula. The member of a subset of the Bloods street gang had been under FBI investigation since September 2014.
Burnett, along with Charles McMillan, Charles Bailey, Jr., Mario Barrett and Jordan Davis were charged with conspiring to distribute and distributing heroin, cocaine, cocaine base and marijuana.
The 9Rounds Gym in Peninsula Town Center in Hampton was used for drug deals. The gym is owned by Burnett and his mother Shirley. Alex, along with his parents Shirley and Robert, as well as Ada Rodriguez and Eleanora Paronuzzi, were charged with laundering the money made from the drug distribution.
Alex Burnett, Barrett and Davis were also charged with possessing firearms as convicted felons, and Barrett is additionally charged with possessing an assault rifle in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Below is the full list of charges and the max penalty for each:
- Alex Burnett (37, Hampton) – Continuing Criminal Enterprise, Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs, Conspiracy to Launder Money, Distribution of Heroin, Felon in Possession of Firearm
- Shirley Burnett (62, Carrollton) – Conspiracy to Launder Money (20 years)
- Robert Burnett (64, Carrollton) – Conspiracy to Launder Money (20 years)
- Jordan Davis (24, Williamsburg) – Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs (Life), Distribution of Cocaine Base (20 years), Felon in Possession of Firearm (10 years)
- Charles McMillan (30, Newport News) – Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs (Life), Distribution of Cocaine Base (20 years)
- Charles Bailey, Jr. (54, Newport News) – Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs (Life), Distribution of Cocaine Base (20 years)
- Eleanora Paronuzzi (36, Newport News) – Conspiracy to Launder Money (20 years)
- Ada Rodriguez (36, Jacksonville, Florida) – Conspiracy to Launder Money (20 years)
- Mario Barrett (41, Hampton) – Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs (Life), Distribution of Heroin (20 years), Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana (5 years), Felon in Possession of Firearm (10 years), Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking (Life)
Related:
Local gym owners among seven accused of trafficking guns, drugs
