NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A Newport News woman pleaded guilty today to possessing a firearm while distributing crack cocaine.
According to court documents, Dynetta R. Littlejohn, 30, was at home in August 2018, when law enforcement lawfully searched her residence and seized several narcotics to include MDMA, promethazine, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base. Police also seized two digital scales, $1,225 in U.S. currency, glassine bags and other drug packaging material, narcotics cutting agents, and other tools of the drug trafficking trade, such as a loaded Ruger P90.45 caliber semi-automatic handgun and additional ammunition. Littlejohn told officers that the items seized belonged to her. The search of the residence sprung from Littlejohn’s cohabitant making an illegal U-turn mere hours earlier in a vehicle also filled with drugs, a gun, and $3,091 in U.S. currency.
Littlejohn pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of life in prison when sentenced on December 13. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter G. Osyf is 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. 4:19-cr-53.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
