WASHINGTON — A notorious D.C. drug kingpin could soon get out of prison earlier than first thought.
On Friday, the US District Court for the District of Columbia filed a motion to seek a reduction in the life prison sentence for 54-year-old Rayful Edmond III.
Authorities say Edmond ran a large scale crack cocaine trafficking conspiracy in the District in the late 1980s. The operation, which used intimidation and violence to generate millions of dollars in revenue, was dramatically altered when Edmond was arrested in April 1989.
Edmond has spent the last thirty years behind bars for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, the conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine and interstate travel in aid of racketeering among other charges.
But, D.C. United States Attorney Jessie Liu recently wrote that Edmond deserves to have his sentence reduced for cooperating with the federal government.
"The defendant's cooperation has taken many forms," read the US Attorney's (USAO) filing. "It has ranged from assisting in the conviction of extremely violent individuals to assisting in the investigation of ongoing narcotics trafficking to assisting in the institutions of prison reforms. The defendant's cooperation has been both deep and wide."
According to the USAO, Edmond cooperated with the federal government, on a variety of cases, between 1994 to 2014. The filing said he helped provide information about cold case homicides and participated in reverse undercover drug sting operations.
Edmond's actions helped lead to a reduction in the amount of jail-time his mother, Constance Perry, would serve for the role she played in the same criminal conspiracy. Perry, who had been sentenced to 24 years behind bars, ultimately had her sentence reduced to "time served".
The USAO's motion regarding Edmond is still pending. The USAO has declined to comment further on the matter.
Former DC drug kingpin, Rayful Edmond, could receive early release from prison
Edmond, 54, had been sentenced to life in prison in 1989 for his role in creating one of the biggest crack cocaine operations in DC history.