Two men have pled guilty for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl after law enforcement followed a hand-drawn map to recover buried drugs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today.
According to court documents, Ronald Devon Matthews, 39, of Isle of Wight County, was arrested on Dec. 7, 2021, and charged with multiple counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
Prior to his arrest, Matthews buried 383 grams of fentanyl outside his home, intending to retrieve and distribute it later.
While incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) in Petersburg, Matthews drew a map indicating the fentanyl’s burial location and passed it to Demetris Alexander Daniels, 34, of Hampton, instructing him to retrieve the drugs.
According to court documents, Daniels attempted to locate the fentanyl but was unsuccessful. On June 16, 2023, law enforcement, executing a search warrant, recovered the map from Daniels’ bedroom and followed it to the buried fentanyl.