Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
A Newport News man has been sentenced to six years and six months in prison for drug and firearm offenses. Torrean Dontae Whitlow, 34, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Court documents reveal that on July 12, 2023, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) observed Whitlow with an extended magazine protruding from his waistband. Whitlow has previous convictions for arson in 2008 and being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2013. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. The agents also witnessed him engaging in suspected narcotics transactions with four individuals within ten minutes at a parking lot in Hampton.
The ATF alerted the Hampton Police Department officers who then observed similar activities by Whitlow. After leaving the parking lot in a taxi, Whitlow was arrested by the officers. A search of the taxi uncovered a handgun equipped with a 32-round magazine.
Following his arrest, law enforcement executed a search warrant on another vehicle associated with Whitlow's activities. They found two scales and plastic baggies containing cocaine and methamphetamine.
The announcement was made by Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Jimmie Wideman, Chief of Hampton Police after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa R. McKeel and Alyson C. Yates along with Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcus Johnson and Alyssa Levey-Weinstein prosecuted the case.
Further details can be accessed through related court documents available on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or via PACER under Case No. 4:23-cr-91.
