A 36-year-old man accused of distributing illegal drugs in Portsmouth has his preliminary hearing on Tuesday, May 30, at the federal courthouse on Granby Street.
The man, Samuel Swinney, was arrested on March 23 and is currently being held without bond at Western Tidewater Regional Jail.
Swinney’s court appearance followed a weeks-long investigation into a narcotics operation that eventually led to his, and his accomplices’, arrest.
DEA Special Agent Brian Reynaldo, who took part in investigating the case, outlined his findings in an affidavit. Reynaldo makes the following statements in the affidavit he authored:
- In 2022, members of the Portsmouth Police Department (PPD) arrested a person who later agreed to be a confidential source for the department. This source told police that Swinney was a source for crack cocaine in Portsmouth. The person added that Swinney employed a number of people to distribute the drugs, and they were based out of a “known residence” on Staunton Avenue.
- During early 2023, personnel from both PPD and the DEA Norfolk District Office began conducting surveillance on the 2400 block of Staunton Avenue: an area notorious for criminal activity. The two agencies learned that an “open-air drug market” was operating at the residence associated with Swinney.
- Following the discovery of the open-air drug market, investigators began surveilling the residence associated with Swinney. Over a roughly two-week period, investigators witnessed over 500 suspected hand-to-hand drug deals at the residence. Swinney was responsible for conducting over 100 of these transactions.
- Investigators followed a person who appeared to buy drugs from Swinney. After pulling the person over, they found just under one gram of a substance, which was later identified as cocaine at a forensic lab. Following this, authorities stopped two other people on separate occasions who appeared to buy drugs from Swinney. In both cases, investigators recovered substances. Lab testing showed that both recovered substances were cocaine.
- Reynaldo asserts that Swinney was "knowingly and intentionally" distributing products containing cocaine.
Investigators then executed arrest warrants for several people connected to the open-air drug market, including Swinney. They also executed search warrants for the residence on Staunton Avenue.
Inside the residence, authorities say they recovered over 55 grams of cocaine, over 37 grams of crack cocaine, guns and cash. Reynaldo says before Swinney was arrested, he was seen putting items in the spots where authorities located the drugs.
Swinney was then arrested and taken to Portsmouth City Jail. Reynaldo says while Swinney was incarcerated, he used another inmate’s account to call his co-conspirators and discuss matters related to his drug operation.
Two of Swinney's accomplices have already waived their preliminary hearings.
Swinney’s federal charges include Distribution of Cocaine and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine.
When asked, Swinney's attorney told News 3 she had no comment on the case following Tuesday's hearing.
