RICHMOND, Va. – A man that prosecutors called a “career criminal” was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson to 30 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.
Elbrendel Edwards, 42, of Richmond, pleaded guilty on July 22, after investigators worked to link him to overdose deaths in the area.
Edwards distributed approximately 12 kilograms of cocaine and approximately 6 kilograms of heroin into the Richmond community in the one-year period leading up to his April 18 arrest, according to court documents. That conversion would be over 423 ounces of cocaine and about 211 ounces of heroin.
Those same documents also indicated that some of the heroin Edwards distributed led to multiple overdoses.
In April law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at two residences used by Edwards and recovered heroin, drug packaging materials, and the three firearms.
In addition to distributing multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin, Edwards was in possession of three firearms: A Smith and Wesson semi-automatic handgun; a Taurus .22 caliber revolver which he traded for with heroin; and a Raven Arms .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun.
