Linwood Taylor, Heroin Distribution, Virginia 2023

NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth heroin dealer has been sentenced to 262 months in prison and eight years of supervised release for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute heroin. Linwood Taylor, 56, of Portsmouth, was ordered to forfeit $393,799, representing the proceeds of the offense for which he pleaded guilty on May 12.

According to court documents, Taylor distributed in excess of six kilograms of heroin in Portsmouth over the course of a year and a half. When Taylor was arrested, his base of operations was a Rodeway Inn motel in Portsmouth, where officers from the DEA and the Portsmouth Police Department's Special Investigative Unit recovered nearly $9,000 in cash, 87 grams of heroin, 10 grams of cocaine, and a hydraulic press.

Taylor used the press to give the appearance that the heroin he sold was of high quality and had been freshly removed from a kilogram of raw heroin. Instead, he used cutting agents to double the amount and profits of his heroin sales.

The sentence was announced after sentencing by U.S. District Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Linwood Taylor, a resident of Portsmouth, was found guilty of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute heroin.

Linwood Taylor's base of operations, the Rodeway Inn motel in Portsmouth, was raided by authorities, resulting in the recovery of nearly $9,000 in cash, 87 grams of heroin, 10 grams of cocaine, and a hydraulic press. Taylor used the press to cut and package his heroin, making it appear to be of higher quality.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Attorney General of Virginia, and the DEA announced the sentencing. Linwood Taylor was sentenced to 262 months in prison and eight years of supervised release for his crimes.

Linwood Taylor, 56, of Portsmouth, was sentenced to 262 months in prison and eight years of supervised release for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute heroin. He was also ordered to forfeit $393,799, representing the proceeds of the offense.

In a press release, the authorities noted that Linwood Taylor distributed in excess of six kilograms of heroin in Portsmouth over the course of a year and a half. His base of operations was a Rodeway Inn motel in Portsmouth, where authorities recovered nearly $9,000 in cash, 87 grams of heroin, 10 grams of cocaine, and a hydraulic press.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/portsmouth-heroin-dealer-sentenced-21-years-prison