Rayful Edmond III's life sentence for cocaine-related charges in DC reduced by federal judge
WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - Notorious D.C. drug kingpin Rayful Edmond III's sentence has been reduced after he cooperated with federal prosecutors, according to court documents.
Edmond has been serving a life sentence without parole on federal drug charges after pleading guilty in D.C. in 1989. A judge has now ruled that Edmond's sentence be reduced to 20 years with lifetime parole.
Court documents indicate that Edmond was responsible for hundreds of kilograms of cocaine sold from the D.C. area, and that he made millions in the process. The judge says Edmond stands convicted of having run "the largest cocaine distribution operation in the history of the nation's capital."
After his conviction, Edmond began selling drugs from behind bars, until he was caught in 1994. The judge has ruled that he will begin serving the sentenced 30 years of prison time and 10 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison time in D.C.
Edmond began cooperating with law enforcement after he was charged in prison.
In 2019, prosecutors said Edmond's cooperation enabled them to arrest eight people involved in a District drug ring and recover $190,000 in drug proceeds.
They also said Edmond gave prosecutors information on two homicides and testified in the trial of one of the homicides. This cooperation is ultimately what led the judge to grant Edmond's motion to reduce his sentence.
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Edmond requested early release in February 2019.