ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A 29-year-old Alexandria man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy that led to the overdose death of a 20-year-old female in Arlington. Kibruysday Degefa, who was convicted of conspiracy, possession, and distribution of fentanyl and Eutylone, as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm during drug trafficking.
The investigation revealed that Degefa conspired with others to distribute counterfeit, pressed pills containing fentanyl, as well as Eutylone, a designer drug similar in character to MDMA. The pills distributed by the conspiracy contributed to the mixed drug overdose death of a 20-year-old female in Arlington whose blood contained fentanyl.
A search warrant executed on the hotel room where Degefa was staying at the time revealed additional narcotics for distribution, including Eutylone, along with multiple firearms concealed in the bathroom ceiling tiles. Degefa was previously convicted of robbery in Alexandria in 2015.
U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, Arlington County Chief of Police Andy Penn, DEA Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Virginia State Police Superintendent Colonel Gary T. Settle, and ATF Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson announced the sentencing after U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady imposed the sentence.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel M. Roberts and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jim Trump, Ryan Bredemeier, and Michael P. Ben’Ary prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.
The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force. The OCDETF program has the principle mission of identifying, disrupting, and dismantling the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
Related Federal Cases
- William Preston Ramey-Woodard, Fentanyl Trafficking, Virginia 2020 · Virginia
- Dustin L. White, Methamphetamine Trafficking, West Virginia 2020 · Washington
- Michael Stanley Wright, Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Possession, West Virginia 2020-2021 · Virginia
- Cordale Antonio Williams, Drug Trafficking, West Virginia 2020 · Virginia
- Matthew Scott Upton, Drug Trafficking and Firearms, West Virginia 2020 · Massachusetts
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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