NORFOLK, Va. — Author's note: the video above is on file from October 2017.
A federal court sentenced a Norfolk man to 262 months in prison today for his fentanyl distribution and bribery convictions.
That adds up to more than 21 years in prison for Donatarius Leshay Boone, 31.
Jessica Aber, the U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, shared an update on his case on Oct. 22.
She said Boone was found guilty of using the mail to collect pills laced with fentanyl and then giving those to three other people who sold the look-alike "prescription opioid medication."
Fentanyl is a pain medication about 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Two milligrams can be enough to kill an adult.
Boone was convicted of planning to distribute more than 400 grams of the substance.
The case goes back to February and March 2021, when investigators intercepted 4,000 pills that were being shipped to Windsor and Suffolk for him.
Aber said when Boone got to the post office to pick up a package full of pills and saw law enforcement there, he tried to run away.
"Upon apprehension, Boone admitted he was the intended recipient of both packages," Aber wrote. "He further admitted he had been responsible for the importation of approximately 10,000 pills per month. A subsequent search of Boone’s residence resulted in the recovery of a firearm, additional quantities of cocaine and fentanyl, scales, and commonly used adulterants."
Aber said "shortly after" that, he tried to bribe a federal agent with $20,000.
He asked for protection from criminal charges and help with drug distribution in a recorded phone call. The agent reported the call, and Boone was arrested at a meeting he set up with the intent of seeing this agent. Officers found $20,000 in his car.