News from DEA, Domestic Field Divisions, San Franciso News Releases, 10/06/06

News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2006
Contact: ASAC Gordon Taylor
Phone: 916-416-7699

Sacramento Area Family Arrested
Federal Charges Against Local Drug Dealer, Mother, Father, Current Wife and Former Wife for Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Money Laundering

SACRAMENTO – Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gordon Taylor, Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Special Agent in Charge Roger L. Wirth, and United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott, announced today that DEA agents and IRS agents have arrested Daryl M. Summerfield, 40, a long-time resident of the Sacramento area and El Dorado Hills, who was arrested at his current new home adjacent to a golf course in Chowchilla. Summerfield was arrested on a federal criminal complaint which charges him in a three-year conspiracy to distribute multiple kilo-quantities of cocaine locally in Sacramento neighborhoods as well as in Pennsylvania and Alaska. The complaint also includes numerous money laundering charges.

Also arrested on drug trafficking conspiracy charges were Daryl Summerfield’s father, Solomon Summerfield, 72, of Sacramento; and his current wife, Tpring Knox Summerfield, 29, who is currently living in Queen Creek, Arizona. Daryl Summerfield’s mother, Barbara Brown, 64, currently living in Queen Creek, Arizona, was arrested on a money laundering charge. There is an arrest warrant still outstanding for Daryl Summerfield’s ex-wife, Angela Summerfield, 30, formerly of Sacramento, who is charged in the federal criminal complaint with 2 counts of money laundering. Daryl Summerfield was charged in 5 counts of money laundering.

The affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint details numerous trips to Pennsylvania by Solomon Summerfield and/or other drivers hired by Daryl Summerfield carrying loads of cocaine to suppliers there. On one such trip, according to the affidavit, Ohio State troopers intercepted two vans carrying 22 kilos of cocaine for Daryl Summerfield. The complaint details how, immediately following the trip where the vans were stopped and 22 kilos seized, Daryl Summerfield emptied his local bank accounts, apparently fearing imminent arrest. According to the affidavit, airline and banking records show that his mother, Barbara Brown, got on a plane from Arizona, came to Sacramento, and got a cashier’s check from Daryl Summerfield and immediately flew back to Arizona and deposited the money in her own name to conceal her son’s drug proceeds.

The complaint affidavit also details a 2003 trip to Alaska in which Daryl Summerfield delivered cocaine to his wife, Tpring Summerfield, for her to sell in Alaska. According to the affidavit, Daryl Summerfield shipped more cocaine to Alaska as recently as March 2006 when agents intercepted packages totaling 13 kilos of cocaine that Daryl Summerfield tried to ship from a FedEx / Kinko's store and a UPS store in Elk Grove.

Daryl Summerfield’s first wife, Angela Summerfield, is alleged to have engaged in numerous money laundering schemes to conceal the source of Daryl Summerfield’s drug proceeds by making mortgage payments of local residences owned by her husband at 7472 HENRIETTA AVENUE, and 3201 69th AVENUE, both in the Meadowview area of Sacramento. Daryl Summerfield is also alleged to have sold cocaine locally at, and laundered drug proceeds through, a now-closed storefront business called “Goodfella’s Urbanwear,” located near Mack Road and Highway 99.

Also on October 5, 2006, agents executed two federal search warrants in connection with the investigation, one at Solomon Summerfield’s Sacramento residence where they seized a large number of mature marijuana plants. Agents recovered at least 5 firearms from Daryl Summerfield’s residence in Chowchilla, including a MAC-11, several Glocks, and an extended “banana clip” magazine.

The Court also approved a seizure warrant authoring agents to seize identified assets purchased with, or traceable to, the proceeds of the drug conspiracy. At the time of the arrests, agents seized 3 Harley Davidson motorcycles, a “Harley Davidson edition” Ford truck, and a boat. Agents also seized a Mercedes-Benz SUV from Daryl Summerfield’s mom, Barbara Brown, in Arizona. The estimated street value of the cocaine seized throughout the investigation is approximately $1.75 million.

These arrests are the culmination of an intensive, long-term investigation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Sacramento Police Department, Sacramento Sheriff’s Department and other local law enforcement agencies.

DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gordon Taylor said, “This cocaine organization gives new meaning to the term ‘Family Tradition’. Daryl Summerfield used his family ties to create a cocaine empire that has plagued communities in Alaska, Pennsylvania and in our very own Oak Park Neighborhood.”

“The arrests of Daryl Summerfield and several members of his family, including his mother and father, represent a major strike against large-scale cocaine dealing in our region and elsewhere. The federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies involved in this complex investigation are to be commended for their dedication,” said U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott.

IRS CI Special Agent in Charge, Roger L. Wirth said, “The combined efforts of the law enforcement agencies in an investigation of this magnitude produce a formidable force against narcotics trafficking and money laundering. It is a priority of IRS Criminal Investigation to assist in eradicating such criminal drug organizations by tracing and eliminating the profits generated by their illicit activities."

The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to distribute cocaine is a minimum mandatory term of imprisonment of 10 years, and a maximum term of imprisonment of life; a $ 4 million fine. The maximum statutory penalty for engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity with intent to conceal the illegal source of the funds is a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; a $ 500,000 fine or twice the value of the illegal proceeds. The maximum statutory penalty for engaging in a monetary transaction derived from specified unlawful activity is a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years; a $ 250,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California, in Sacramento. The charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.