Daryl Keith Sills, Cocaine Conspiracy, Virginia 2020

NORFOLK, Va. - A Norfolk man with a previous federal drug-trafficking conviction pleaded guilty today to conspiring to traffic wholesale amounts of cocaine in and around Hampton Roads, Virginia, and to possessing several guns to protect his drug trade.

Daryl Keith Sills, 56, faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life when sentenced on June 8.

According to court documents, in 2014, Sills completed a nine-year federal sentence for conspiring to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine. Two years later, he started up his drug trafficking operation again, distributing at least one kilogram of powder cocaine a month until his October 2019 arrest on the charges in this case.

In 2018, DEA conducted three controlled buys from Sills, totaling 140 grams of cocaine. In 2019, informants observed Sills receive and store in his residence more than 10 kilograms of cocaine. At Sills' arrest, law enforcement searched his Norfolk and Virginia Beach drug premises, recovering a total of nine firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, 713 grams of cocaine, and 74 grams of marijuana. Sills admitted to his years-long conspiracy and attributed 20 kilograms of historical cocaine weight to himself.

Sills pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, and two counts of possessing firearms in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/felon-pleads-guilty-hampton-roads-cocaine-conspiracy