Orlando Roosevelt Adkins, Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Marijuana, Virginia 2023

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Hampton man late Friday afternoon of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl and marijuana.

Orlando Roosevelt Adkins, 45, operated and managed Elite Customs, an automotive repair and custom autobody shop in Hampton, Virginia, from approximately September 2019, until his arrest in April 2022. During this time, this property was used as a drug-involved premises for a drug trafficking conspiracy.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Adkins distributed and possessed quantities of fentanyl and marijuana. The conspirators would purchase and receive drugs from suppliers in Mexico, Texas, California, and North Carolina, and arrange for the drugs to be transported to Virginia using rental vehicles, couriers, postal services, semi-trailers, trucks, and recreational vehicles.

On June 26, 2023, Adkins pleaded guilty to charges of distribution of marijuana, maintaining a drug-involved premises, and two counts of using a communication facility in furtherance of drug trafficking, but denied involvement in any drug trafficking conspiracy.

Adkins was tried last week on the remaining conspiracy charge, during which the federal jury found that Adkins was, in fact, part of a drug conspiracy that involved fentanyl and marijuana.

Adkins was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and marijuana and faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison when sentenced on November 28. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

Defendant: Orlando Roosevelt Adkins

Charges: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and marijuana

Location: Hampton, Virginia

Date: September 2019 – April 2022

Sentence: 5 years in prison, mandatory minimum

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-20.

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