Couple Pleads Guilty to Distributing Narcotics in Hampton Roads

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man and woman pleaded guilty today to a multi-year conspiracy to distribute narcotics in Hampton Roads.

According to court documents, Dontae Rashawn Parks, 36, and Shakera Semone Greene, 36, spent the last three years distributing cocaine, crack, and heroin cut with fentanyl to the Newport News community. In addition to narcotics, over $23,000 in U.S. currency, multiple firearms, ammunition, and a ballistic vest were seized during lawful searches of the couples’ residences.

Parks and Greene pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine, base, heroin, and fentanyl in Hampton Roads. Parks additionally pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Greene faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 22, 2021. Due to his more significant role in the conspiracy and the additional firearms charge, Parks faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on Jan. 21, 2021. 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.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation Undertow. The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge David J. Novak accepted the pleas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter G. Osyf is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. 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. 4:20-cr-20.