NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, from about January 2019 through April 2021, Barry Justin King, 41, received and distributed approximately four to five kilograms of methamphetamine every month by traveling out of the district to pick up illegal narcotics from sources in New Jersey. In addition to methamphetamine, King also distributed counterfeit pills that bore the appearance of prescription pills but contained fentanyl and other illegal narcotics.
On April 27, 2021, one of King’s sources of supply, who is now a cooperating witness, advised law enforcement that they had a vehicle that contained illegal narcotics intended for King. A search of said vehicle yielded approximately three pounds of methamphetamine, 632 orange pills containing methamphetamine, 794 counterfeit Xanax pills containing etizolam, and 51 white pills containing both fentanyl and acetaminophen. Subsequently, law enforcement conducted controlled purchases of methamphetamine from King on two separate occasions. On April 6, 2022, King was stopped at a traffic stop where a drug detection canine positively alerted to the presence of approximately nine ounces of methamphetamine, approximately 569 Fentanyl pills, and approximately 826 counterfeit Adderall pills laced with methamphetamine. King has twice been convicted before for drug distribution offenses in state court.
King is scheduled to be sentenced on January 11, 2023. He faces a mandatory minimum term of 5 years in prison and a maximum term of 40 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Mike Goldsmith, Interim Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. Comstock and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Liu are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-72.