From Niesha Lofing:
A longtime Oak Park crack dealer was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in federal prison.
Harvey Lee Sewell, 45, of Sacramento, also was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton to 10 years federal supervised release, according to a news release by the office of U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott.
Sewell was found guilty of five counts of conspiracy and distribution of crack cocaine by a federal jury in February.
Evidence introduced during the trial showed that from August 2005 to January 2006, Sewell was the "architect" of a crack cocaine distribution ring responsible for selling thousands of dollars worth of crack cocaine each day in south Sacramento, federal prosecutors said.
Sewell ran his crack business from motel rooms along Stockton Boulevard, the release states.
During that time, Sewell traveled to Oakland and Richmond to obtain up to 15 ounces of powder cocaine from his drug suppliers and then took the cocaine to a "stash pad" at a motel near the Arden Fair mall, the release states. Once at the motel, Sewell would convert the powder cocaine into crack cocaine. He then packaged the crack and delivered the large packages to his "crew members" in the Stockton Boulevard motel, the release states.
During the trial, witnesses described Sewell, known as "JR," as a well-known, longtime drug dealer in Oak Park who also distributed large quantities of methamphetamine.
Sewell's criminal history includes three felony convictions for crack cocaine sales and one robbery conviction, the release states.
The case was investigated by members of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Sacramento High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area team and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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