NORFOLK, Va. - Linwood Taylor, 56, of Portsmouth, was sentenced today to 262 months in prison and eight years of supervised release for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute heroin. Taylor was also ordered to forfeit $393,799, which represents the proceeds of the offense for which he pleaded guilty to on May 12.
According to court documents, Taylor distributed in excess of six kilograms of heroin over the course of a year and half in Portsmouth. When Taylor was arrested, his base of operations was a Rodeway Inn motel in Portsmouth where officers from the DEA and the Portsmouth Police Department’s Special Investigative Unit recovered nearly $9,000 in cash, 87 grams of heroin, 10 grams of cocaine, and a hydraulic press. Taylor used the press to give the appearance that the heroin he sold was of high quality and had been freshly removed from a kilogram of raw heroin. Instead, he used cutting agents to double the amount and profits of his heroin sales.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-46.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
