Fife drug gang leader ‘da Mayor’ gets 15 years for narcotics trafficking, gun possession
When police searched the Fife home of a criminal gang leader, they found drugs, guns, $300,000 in cash and a gem-encrusted necklace bearing the leader’s nom de guerre, “da Mayor.”
Da Mayor is now on his way to prison.
On Friday, Charles Roland Cheatham, 43, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 15 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced.
Cheatham ran a criminal organization which moved dangerous drugs from southern California to Washington and Illinois, according to the U.S Attorney. He was arrested June 6, 2018, along with 38 other members of his criminal enterprise.
Cheatham had been prohibited from possessing firearms, but he successfully petitioned a court to have his gun rights restored prior to his 2018 arrest, the U.S. Attorney said.
On Aug. 30, Cheatham pleaded guilty to drug distribution, firearm and money laundering charges.
“This defendant and his gang were responsible for huge amounts of illegal drugs damaging our communities,” U.S. Attorney Brian Moran said in a statement.
According to court records, Cheatham and his conspirators trafficked cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, fentanyl and illegal marijuana. The first three of those drugs are largely responsible for opioid overdoses in Washington, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Some of Cheatham’s co-conspirators have been linked to violence, including shootings in Seattle and south King County, the U.S. Attorney said.
Authorities wiretapped suspects and heard them talk about shootings and discuss obtaining firearms after rival gangs shot at them.
Law enforcement seized 12 pounds of heroin, more than 2 kilograms of cocaine, a pound of methamphetamine, 124 pounds of marijuana, 41 firearms, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash during the operation to take down the gang.
In all, 43 defendants have pleaded guilty in connection with the drug trafficking gang.
