United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Arlington man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for participating in a conspiracy to distribute over seven kilograms of fentanyl.

According to court documents, Taurean Venable, 37, and others would obtain kilogram quantities of fentanyl from various sources of supply. The group would then use a pill press to manufacture thousands of counterfeit prescription pills resembling legitimate pain medications, such as Oxycodone. In actuality, the pills contained fentanyl and other cutting agents, and the group would then distribute the pills to redistributors and users in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for profit.

During a court-authorized search of a coconspirator’s residence in Arlington in June of 2020, law enforcement seized pill manufacturing materials along with over seven kilograms of fentanyl in both pill and raw form, along with a loaded AK-47 semi-automatic firearm and $34,828 in U.S. currency. Upon his arrest, law enforcement also obtained court authorization to search Venable’s residence, where they located an additional $23,193 in drug proceeds. Venable is the third member of the conspiracy to be sentenced. Cornelius Frazier, 33, of Arlington received a sentence of 151 months’ imprisonment, and Kyle Bouldin, 31, of Woodbridge, received a sentence of 72 months’ imprisonment for their respective roles.

Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Andy Penn, Arlington County Chief of Police; Michael L. Brown, Alexandria Chief of Police; and David Huchler, Chief of Police, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bibeane Metsch and Special Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Roberts prosecuted the case.

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