6th Guilty Plea In Heroin/Fentanyl Drug Ring: Authorities

A sixth person has pleaded guilty in large scale drug trafficking ring that was centered in South Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced on Friday.

Davon Leak, 20, of Camden, pleaded to a superseding information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, according to authorities.

Leak admitted that he sold crack cocaine and furanyl fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, around the 1700 block of Filmore Street in Camden as part of a larger drug ring, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.

Leak also admitted that he prepared and packaged drugs for sale. He faces between 5 and 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine at sentencing on March 11, 2019.

He was arrested in April, nearly a year after 10 other members of the alleged drug ring were arrested. The other 10 people arrested were John Gunther, 34, of Blackwood; Mark Campbell, 28, of Sicklerville; George Williams, 42 of Haddon Township; and Taleaf Gunther, 31, William Roland, 35, Daron Suiter, 23, Karim Johnson, 38, Latoya Whealton, 32, Malcolm McCoy, 27, and Rajai Gaines, 33, all of Camden.

John Gunther and Taleaf Gunther were the alleged leaders and managers of the operation. They obtained large amounts of the drugs and readied them to be sold on the streets, according to authorities. Campbell is accused of supplying bulk quantities of crack cocaine to members of the organization.

They were accused of providing crack cocaine and heroin to other members of the group to be sold to customers. They also collected the money and oversaw the daily sales and operation of the organization, according to authorities.

The FBI-led investigation made use of surveillance, confidential informants, cooperating witnesses, more than 20 controlled drug purchases, record checks, a GPS vehicle tracker, and multiple telephone wiretaps to uncover the operations of the drug trafficking organization. The investigation ultimately led to the seizure of over 300 grams of crack cocaine, quantities of furanyl fentanyl and heroin, a firearm, and drug paraphernalia.

Johnson previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and is subject to eight years of supervised release and 300 hours of community service.

On March 26, at the same time Johnson pleaded guilty, Suiter pleaded guilty to the same charges. Suiter was sentenced on Aug. 9 to five years in prison.

On March 12, Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute furanyl fentanyl.

On March 5, Whealton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base. She also accepted responsibility for distributing furanyl fentanyl and heroin to customers in Camden.

Later in the spring, Gaines pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with possessing with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base.

Williams, Whealton and Gaines all await sentencing. Charges remain against the other six people in the alleged drug ring, and they are all considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Image via Shutterstock.

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