Supplier for Centreville Heroin Ring Sentenced to More Than 26 Years in Prison

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Antonio Lamont Harper, age 33, of Waldorf, Md., was sentenced to a total of 26 years and eight months in prison today. United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema sentenced Harper to 236 months of imprisonment on his conviction for conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 84 additional months of imprisonment on his conviction for possession of and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of the heroin conspiracy. Harper is the fifteenth individual sentenced in “Operation Smackdown,” involving a heroin trafficking ring in Centreville, Virginia.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Colonel David Rohrer, Fairfax County Chief of Police; and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the sentencing hearing today.

Harper faced a total mandatory minimum sentence of 17 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. At the plea hearing in April 2009, Harper admitted that, from about 2006 through November 2008, he obtained bulk quantities of heroin and repackaged the heroin for distribution in individual bags, which he distributed on a regular basis to others, including many of those involved in the Centreville heroin ring. During this time, he possessed a .45 caliber handgun, which was clearly visible tucked in his waistband or would be displayed on the seat of the car or on his lap during a drug deal. According to court documents, Harper was responsible for between 10 and 30 kilograms, or 100,000 to 300,000 individual bags, of heroin from 2006 through November 2008.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fairfax County Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erik R. Barnett, Daniel J. Grooms and Lauren A. Wetzler.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.

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