United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -  - United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced four defendants today to lengthy prison terms for conspiring to distribute (Ecstasy) and for possession with intent to distribute MDMA, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

The sentences are as follows: David Chong, 38, of Alameda was sentenced to 10 years in prison; Robert Ly, 29, of Sacramento was sentenced to nine years in prison; Dassany “Daisy” Keohimanh, 30, of Stockton was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison; and Darryl Smith, 31, of Sacramento was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison.

On December 6, 2012, Judge England sentenced co-defendant James Johnson to seven years and three months in prison. Two other co-defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on May 30, 2013.

According to court documents, between April and December of 2008, agents purchased approximately 9,000 MDMA pills from Johnson. During the investigation, court-authorized wiretaps, surveillance and other evidence, demonstrated that Chong was supplying MDMA using a restaurant in Alameda as a front to conduct the drug trafficking. During the investigation, on December 8, 2008, the California Highway Patrol seized 11,000 MDMA pills from a vehicle driven by Robert Ly after he was stopped on Highway 80 near West Sacramento. Approximately 39,000 MDMA pills were seized during this investigation.

This case is the product of an investigation by the DEA Sacramento District Office, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Western El Dorado County Narcotics Enforcement, California Highway Patrol, and the DEA San Diego Field Division into the activities of the violent Sacramento-area street gangs known as Tiny Rascal (TRG) and Khom Zing (KZT). Assistant United States Attorney Jason Hitt is prosecuting this case.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task (“OCDETF”). The OCDETF Program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

When prosecuted in federal court, drug traffickers typically receive longer sentences and, unlike state court prisoners, there is no early release on parole in the federal system.