Landscaper caught selling 32.5 kilos of heroin

NORFOLK, Va. – For nearly eight years, Marlon Daye ran a large drug-trafficking operation that brought more than 32.5 kilograms of heroin from New York to Hampton Roads, according to court documents.

It netted more than $2.6 million, documents said, on top of whatever legitimate income he earned operating a Chesapeake landscaping business.

Or, as his defense attorney said, enough “to make ends meet.”

“He lived a non-lavish lifestyle with his father and did not have expensive vehicles or homes,” Assistant Federal Public Defender Keith Kimball wrote in court documents. He argued most of the drugs were sold during the early part of the heroin distribution conspiracy and noted that his client was driving a 2000 Ford F-350 pickup with more than 280,000 miles on the odometer at the time of his arrest.

“Despite the extensive nature of the conspiracy, Mr. Daye did not sell drugs to become rich, nor did he ever become rich,” Kimball said.

Daye, the 29-year-old owner of Precision Landscapes, was sentenced Tuesday to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison.

Kimball and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John Butler declined to comment on the case.

Daye, who told a probation agent he made about $73,000 a year from his landscaping company, pleaded guilty last May to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.

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