Latosha L. Prather
NORFOLK, Va. – An Iowa woman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin, one count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering and one count of distribution of heroin after she was allegedly caught transporting drugs from Iowa to Virginia Beach.
According to court documents, Latosha L. Prather, 36, of Des Moines, served as the out-of-state heroin and fentanyl supplier for convicted Hampton Roads regional supplier Michele Best.
In September 2017, Prather sold two kilograms of a substance containing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl for $125,000 to Best from Prather’s home-based day care service in Des Moines. Agents and analysts traced approximately $100,000 in cash deposits from Best to Prather.
In January 2018, Prather traveled from Des Moines to Virginia Beach, where she met with Best in a Wal-Mart parking lot to distribute another kilogram of heroin and fentanyl for $49,000.
In March 2018, a Virginia SWAT team working in concert with the DEA executed a search warrant on Best’s Croatan home, and recovered nearly $42,000 in cash, approximately 352 grams of heroin laced with fentanyl, significant quantities of other narcotics, a commercial money counter and a number of firearms.
Best was sentenced in March 2019 to 30 years in prison.
Prather faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.
