A 47-year-old Chicago man pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to distributing controlled substances, including heroin that was linked to a Bellevue man’s overdose death.
Kevin C. Campbell, a drug treatment worker, sold heroin and prescription drugs such as Xanax and valium using the dark web, according to U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.
Campbell sold heroin and prescription medications in August 2013 to a 27-year-old Bellevue man who died after taking the prescription drugs and shooting up with heroin.
“This case is an outrage and a tragedy at the same time,” Hayes said in a press release. “What allowed this defendant to work at a drug treatment center with people in the grips of addiction, and at the same time peddle dangerous drugs across the country via the dark web? The heroin this defendant sold killed one of his customers. At sentencing we will ask the court for a sentence that reflects that fact.”
According to court records, emergency crews were called to a Bellevue home in August 2013, when a house guest found 27-year-old Jordan Mettee unconscious in his bedroom. On the computer in front of him was the “Silk Road” website, an online black market where illegal goods and services were anonymously marketed and sold. On the screen were messages from a vendor, later determined to be Campbell’s online identity, according to court documents.
The investigation revealed that Campbell was a drug dealer on the dark website, sending prescription drugs, heroin and other illegal substances to customers across the country who ordered online and paid via bitcoin. Campbell concealed and delivered the drugs in altered DVD cases. One DVD case recovered near Mettee’s body was found to have Campbell’s fingerprint on it.
Even after the Silk Road website was shut down, Campbell continued to sell drugs to customers, in one instance sending Xanax pills to a customer in Colorado who was working with law enforcement. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant to search Campbell’s Chicago home in May 2014 and found evidence of his drug trafficking including a small amount of drugs, digital scales, notes, empty DVD cases and shipping materials.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors can ask for up to 10 years in prison when Campbell is sentenced on May 9, by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bellevue Police Department and the Eastside Narcotics Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven Masada.
