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Feds: Chesapeake lawn care company is a front for large scale drug ring
NORFOLK
A Chesapeake lawn care company is a front for a large scale drug ring operating in Hampton Roads, federal investigators say.
Agents say the owner of Precision Landscapes used his business to both sell large quantities of heroin and cocaine and launder the proceeds.
Marlon "Low" Daye even used the company's listed phone number – the one plastered on the side of his work truck – to arrange several of the drug sales, documents said.
Daye, 28, of Sir Galahad Drive in Deep Creek, was arrested this week on federal drug charges. A detention hearing is set for Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Bosse and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John Butler, an assistant attorney general with the state’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Section, declined to comment on the case. Assistant Federal Public Defender Keith Kimball, Daye's defense attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charges against Daye – who first licensed his lawn care company in May 2011 – stem from a seven-month investigation by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Chesapeake Police Department.
According to a partially-redacted court document, Daye, 28, arranged for dozens of kilograms of heroin and more than five kilograms of cocaine to be brought to Hampton Roads from New York. He then would sell the drugs to other dealers in Chesapeake and Portsmouth.
The document, drafted by FBI Special Agent Phillip B. Gautney, cites 10 “confidential human sources" – at least five of whom were involved in the so-called Outten organization.
Alonzo “Muscle” Outten, that group's leader, was sentenced last year to 30 years.
The court document does not name the 10 people who provided information to investigators, but indicates one brought at least 24 kilograms of heroin to Daye from 2008 to 2010. Another person said he or she trafficked 4.2 kilograms of heroin and 4.8 kilograms of cocaine between 2010 and 2013.
The various sources told investigators they often transported the drugs to Hampton Roads via Chinese commercial bus lines – sometimes with the help of female couriers. One of the sources explained those bus lines provided more anonymity, and therefore were less likely to result in arrest and prosecution.
The court document also noted that Daye housed his lawn care equipment in a blue shipping container in Chesapeake, and that he was frequently seen by investigators driving a white pick-up .
Placards on the pick-up's doors advertised Precision Landscapes, documents said. Investigators said the number on those placards was used by both Daye's legitimate lawn care customers, and his drug customers.
In all, investigators orchestrated seven controlled buys between Daye and a confidential source. During all but one of those drug sales, Daye was driving his work truck. And during one of the sales, Daye asked the buyer to meet him where he stores his lawn care equipment.
The controlled buys ultimately netted 112 grams of heroin and 14 grams of cocaine, documents said.
Daye has a limited criminal history, with prosecutors in recent years deciding to drop or otherwise not purse felony charges against him.
Chesapeake Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr said her office dropped a cocaine charge in 2012 after a co-defendant claimed full ownership of the drugs. She said a charge of attempted malicious wounding was dismissed the following year after a victim changed his story and said Daye was not the shooter.
Scott Daugherty, 757-446-2343, scott.daugherty@pilotonline.com
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NORFOLK
A Chesapeake lawn care company is a front for a large scale drug ring operating in Hampton Roads, federal investigators say.
Agents say the owner of Precision Landscapes used his business to both sell large quantities of heroin and cocaine and launder the proceeds.
Marlon "Low" Daye even used the company's listed phone number – the one plastered on the side of his work truck – to arrange several of the drug sales, documents said.
Daye, 28, of Sir Galahad Drive in Deep Creek, was arrested this week on federal drug charges. A detention hearing is set for Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Bosse and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John Butler, an assistant attorney general with the state’s Major Crimes and Emerging Threats Section, declined to comment on the case. Assistant Federal Public Defender Keith Kimball, Daye's defense attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charges against Daye – who first licensed his lawn care company in May 2011 – stem from a seven-month investigation by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Chesapeake Police Department.
According to a partially-redacted court document, Daye, 28, arranged for dozens of kilograms of heroin and more than five kilograms of cocaine to be brought to Hampton Roads from New York. He then would sell the drugs to other dealers in Chesapeake and Portsmouth.
The document, drafted by FBI Special Agent Phillip B. Gautney, cites 10 “confidential human sources" – at least five of whom were involved in the so-called Outten organization.
Alonzo “Muscle” Outten, that group's leader, was sentenced last year to 30 years.
The court document does not name the 10 people who provided information to investigators, but indicates one brought at least 24 kilograms of heroin to Daye from 2008 to 2010. Another person said he or she trafficked 4.2 kilograms of heroin and 4.8 kilograms of cocaine between 2010 and 2013.
The various sources told investigators they often transported the drugs to Hampton Roads via Chinese commercial bus lines – sometimes with the help of female couriers. One of the sources explained those bus lines provided more anonymity, and therefore were less likely to result in arrest and prosecution.
The court document also noted that Daye housed his lawn care equipment in a blue shipping container in Chesapeake, and that he was frequently seen by investigators driving a white pick-up .
Placards on the pick-up's doors advertised Precision Landscapes, documents said. Investigators said the number on those placards was used by both Daye's legitimate lawn care customers, and his drug customers.
In all, investigators orchestrated seven controlled buys between Daye and a confidential source. During all but one of those drug sales, Daye was driving his work truck. And during one of the sales, Daye asked the buyer to meet him where he stores his lawn care equipment.
The controlled buys ultimately netted 112 grams of heroin and 14 grams of cocaine, documents said.
Daye has a limited criminal history, with prosecutors in recent years deciding to drop or otherwise not purse felony charges against him.
Chesapeake Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr said her office dropped a cocaine charge in 2012 after a co-defendant claimed full ownership of the drugs. She said a charge of attempted malicious wounding was dismissed the following year after a victim changed his story and said Daye was not the shooter.
Scott Daugherty, 757-446-2343, scott.daugherty@pilotonline.com
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