Man Who Had Cocaine, Methamphetamine Mailed from California to Charlottesville Pleads Guilty in Federal Court
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- The Charlottesville man who had more than three pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of cocaine mailed to him from California in March 2021 pleaded guilty yesterday to federal drug charges.
Damion Demetrius Reeves, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
According to court documents, on March 18, 2021, the Jefferson Area Drug Task Force (JADE) received a tip that a package containing large quantities of narcotics would be sent from California to an address in Charlottesville intended for Damion Reeves.
Within a week, FedEx alerted JADE officials that the suspect package had arrived at their facility. The suspect package was addressed to “Charlottesville Police Sub09 Law Enforcement” located at Orangedale Avenue, an address in South Charlottesville. The sender was noted as the fictitious “Johnson Law Firm” in San Diego, California. Upon execution of a search warrant on the package, it was discovered to contain 3.12 pounds of methamphetamine and 2.3 pounds of cocaine.
Investigators orchestrated a controlled delivery of the package to the Orangedale Avenue address, where they observed Damion Reeves exiting a short time later.
Reeves’s mother was the lone occupant of the residence when investigators executed a search warrant on the residence. During the entire time, investigators were inside the home, the defendant’s mother stood in front of a small door leading to a storage space under the stairwell. When investigators eventually searched there, they found the suspect package that had been sent from San Diego. In a subsequent court hearing, Reeves admitted that the package belonged to him and that he intended to sell the drugs in the Charlottesville community.
Reeves is scheduled to be sentenced on June 21, 2022.
Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's Washington Division, and United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration's Washington Division, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, and the Jefferson Area Drug Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ronald M. Huber and Katie B. Medearis are prosecuting the case.
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