NORFOLK, Va. - A Norfolk man was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison on charges of conspiring to distribute fentanyl and bribing a public official.
Court documents say 31-year-old Dontarius Leshay Boone received multiple packages containing pressed fentanyl pills that resembled real prescription opioid medication over the course of 16 months. Once received, Boone wholesale distributed the pills to at least three other people for further sale and distribution.
Between February and March 2021, law enforcement identified two packages, each containing about 2,000 of these pills, bound for the Eastern District of Virginia. They further determined that one package was bound for a business in Windsor and the other to a rented postal box at a UPS store in Suffolk.
On March 15, 2021, Boone arrived to pick up the second package and ran when law enforcement attempted to confront him. When he was apprehended, he admitted he was the intended recipient of both packages, and further admitted he was responsible for importing approximately 10,000 pills per month.
A search of Boone's residence resulted in the recovery of a firearm, additional quantities of cocaine and fentanyl, scales and commonly used adulterants.
Court documents also say shortly after his apprehension by law enforcement, Boone attempted to bribe a federal agent to form a "partnership." He told the agent in a recorded phone call that, in exchange for $20,000, he wanted the agent to protect him from criminal charges and assist him in maintaining his drug supply and distribution lines.
Boone was arrested on April 29, 2021 after arranging a meeting with the agent. After his arrest, agents searched his car and found the $20,000 he promised.
Boone's exact sentence was 262 months in prison, or about 21 years.
