December 9, 2009

A 19-year-old Fluvanna County man will spend the next 16 years and 3 months in prison after being sentenced Wednesday in United States District Court for distributing powder and crack cocaine throughout the Commonwealth.

Warren "Pop" Rucker II, a resident of Fluvanna County, was
charged in a ten-count superseding indictment in August 2009 with multiple counts related to the drug trade.

Following a three-day jury trial in September, Rucker was found guilty of one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, one count of aiding and abetting the distribution of more than five grams of crack cocaine, seven counts of distributing crack cocaine, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

Wednesday, in District Court, Rucker was sentenced to 195 months of incarceration and five years of supervised release thereafter.

“Every drug dealer we take off the street brings us one step closer to achieving our goal of transforming once troubled areas of our cities into thriving communities,” said United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy. “Prosecutions like this one take drug pushers who poison those communities off the streets. These cases are imperative to our office’s vision of restoring hope and safety to the communities of the Western District of Virginia.”

During trial, it was revealed that Rucker was part of a drug distribution organization that brought large amounts of powder and crack cocaine into the Charlottesville, Va. area. At the time of his June 9, 2009 arrest, Rucker was found to be in possession of 56 grams of powder cocaine,
197 grams of crack cocaine, and a .45 caliber pistol.

The investigation of the case was conducted by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Charlottesville Police Department, the Albemarle County Police Department and the Henry County Police Department.