NORFOLK, Va. — Two individuals from Norfolk and four individuals from Virginia Beach have been sentenced in a regional drug trafficking scheme.
Leonard Tromell Brooks, 41, of Virginia Beach, a previously convicted drug trafficker, was conspiring with two individuals from Norfolk, Kyle Derek Dean, 33, and Katie Loren Harbor, 29, in the fall of 2021. Their primary substance trafficked was methamphetamine. By January 2022, Colin Thomas Costello, 35, of Virginia Beach, joined their operation.
There were several proven instances of Dean and Harbor selling meth to people in Virginia Beach and Norfolk in March 2022. In April 2022, Costello was signaled to pull over for a traffic stop in Virginia Beach. Before he did so, he tossed nearly 60 grams of meth from his car window, the court found.
Later that April, meanwhile, Brooks sold cocaine several times from a residence in Virginia Beach. Law enforcement learned Brooks was expecting a shipment of meth by train from Florida, and they were able to intercept the courier, seizing five kilograms of pure or "crystal" meth. On at least two other occasions, Brooks had done the same thing, ordering meth for further distribution by Harbor, Dean and Costello.
On April 22, 2022, law enforcement searched all four conspirators' residences.
From Brooks, investigators recovered 219 grams of cocaine, 7.9 ounces of marijuana, $26,388 in drug-trafficking proceeds, a .45 caliber handgun and ammunition.
From Dean and Harbor’s residence investigators recovered 3.07 grams of meth, a ledger showing amounts of money owed to Dean and Harbor, digital scales and packaging materials, as well as another 4.12 grams of meth found on Dean’s person.
From Costello’s residence investigators recovered 405 grams of meth, quantities of fentanyl and cocaine, packaging materials, scales and 14 firearms.
Since Costello was a previously convicted felon, he could not legally possess a firearm. Jonathan Morrell Scott, 37, of Virginia Beach, had purchased four firearms for Costello, and pled guilty in July 2023 to making a false statement during the firearms' purchase. He was sentenced to four months in prison.
Costello's girlfriend, Amber Dawn Hendricks, 40, of Virginia Beach, similarly purchased four firearms for Costello. She and Costello kept a total of 11 firearms in their home. Hendricks was charged in May of this year with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and earlier this month was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
In January 2023, Costello plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; manufacture, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance; and possessing, using, and carrying firearms in furtherance of and during and in relation to a drug-trafficking crime. On Oct. 30, 2024, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Dean was sentenced to 18 years in prison in June 2023, while Harbor was sentenced to nine years. Both faced the charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.
In January 2023, Brooks plead guilty to all of the same charges Costello faced. He was also sentenced to 20 years in prison, in May 2023.
