CLEVELAND, OH. — A Cleveland man with a decades-long history of narcotics and violence convictions has been ordered to federal prison for running a drug distribution network out of his home.
On November 18, U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Barker sentenced Clarence Payne, 40, to 170 months—just over 14 years—in prison. The sentence follows a federal jury finding Payne guilty on multiple counts, including distribution of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to federal prosecutors, the operation relied on a specific hierarchy during the summer of 2023. Payne acted as the primary supplier for co-conspirator Harold Pearl, 41…