Fifth Defendant in Multi-Kilogram Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy Sentenced
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Upper Marlboro, Maryland woman sentenced to 96 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to distribute over seven kilograms of fentanyl.
According to court documents, between January 2018 and February 2021, Ericka Oliver, 34, and others would obtain kilogram quantities of fentanyl from various sources of supply. The group would then use a pill press to manufacture thousands of counterfeit prescription pills resembling legitimate pain medications, such as Oxycodone. In actuality, the pills contained fentanyl and other cutting agents. The group would then distribute the pills to redistributors and users in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for profit.
In June of 2020, during a court-authorized search of a coconspirator’s residence in Arlington, law enforcement seized pill manufacturing materials along with over seven kilograms of fentanyl in both pill and raw form, along with a loaded AK-47 semi-automatic firearm and $34,828 in U.S. currency. Upon her arrest in February 2021, law enforcement also obtained court authorization to search Oliver’s hotel room where an additional $58,960 in U.S. currency and high-end jewelry were seized. At Oliver’s residence, law enforcement located an additional 504 pressed pills containing fentanyl, cutting agents, and $6,500 in U.S. currency among other items.
Oliver is the fifth member of the conspiracy to be sentenced. Cornelius Frazier, 33, of Arlington, received a sentence of 151 months’ imprisonment; Kyle Bouldin, 31, of Woodbridge, received a sentence of 72 months’ imprisonment; Brandon Williams, 29, of Spotsylvania, received a sentence of 125 months’ imprisonment; and Taurean Venable, 37, of Arlington, received a sentence of 120 months’ imprisonment for their respective roles.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; Andy Penn, Arlington County Chief of Police; Don Hayes, Alexandria Chief of Police; and David Huchler, Chief of Police, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bibeane Metsch and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Roberts prosecuted the case.
