NORFOLK, Va. - A Franklin man was sentenced today to 76 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, Taylor Beale, 23, sold LSD to an undercover Franklin Police detective on three occasions in September 2016. Beale brought a handgun to one of these drug deals and showed it to the undercover Franklin detective. On a fourth occasion in September 2016, Beale was also stopped by Virginia State Police Meherrin Drug Task Force Officers and found to be in possession of twenty dosage units of LSD and a handgun. When Beale was arrested, he admitted that he had previously robbed another LSD dealer at gunpoint. In addition to the 76 month sentence, the court also ordered the forfeiture of Beale’s car, and two guns Beale brought to LSD deals.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, Phillip M. Hardison, Chief of the Franklin Police Department, and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Hudson prosecuted 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 is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-100.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
