D.C. resident Jevaughn Mark was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for selling fentanyl disguised as ketamine (“Special K”) to two gay men who died after using the drug.
Mark, 33, also known as “Ledo,” ran what prosecutors described as a “prolific drug delivery service.” He previously pleaded guilty to distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl, 500 grams or more of cocaine, and possessing a firearm.
As part of his plea deal, Mark accepted responsibility for the deaths of 38-year-old attorney Brandon Román and 28-year-old Robert Barletta, a historic preservation expert who owned a home renovation business.
Police responding to a 911 call found the men unconscious at Barletta’s home on December 27, 2023. Román was pronounced dead at the scene. Barletta died two days later at Washington Hospital Center.
In addition to the 15-year prison term, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered Mark to serve five years of supervised release after completing his sentence.
“This defendant peddled poisonous drugs, marketed as ketamine but containing fentanyl, to unsuspecting people,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro in a statement. “When challenged by multiple customers, he disregarded the alarms they sounded and continued selling the same product. This blatant disregard for human life — in the name of profit — is unconscionable.”
“Criminals like Jevaughn Mark pose a deadly threat by selling drugs with fentanyl, which users unknowingly consume, often leading to their deaths,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar Mian. “Illegal drug distribution affects the very foundations of our families and communities, so every time we take criminals like Mark off the streets, lives are saved.”
According to court documents, from at least January 2021 until their arrests in March 2024, Mark and his brother, Angelo, sold drugs to multiple people across the D.C. area, often delivering the narcotics in person.
Mark reportedly texted clients a drug “menu” that included “raw pure” and regular cocaine. He added “ketamine” to the list in November 2023, just a month before Román and Barletta’s deaths.
On December 26, 2023, Mark sold 3.5 grams of “raw” cocaine and three grams of “ketamine” to Román. Text messages showed it was the first time Román had purchased “ketamine” from him.
The Drug Enforcement Administration tested the leftover “ketamine” found at Barletta’s home and confirmed it contained fentanyl, the animal tranquilizer xylazine, and caffeine. Investigators at the scene also recovered text messages that led them to Mark.
Between January 10 and March 13, 2024, undercover officers with the Metropolitan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration made six controlled purchases totaling about 127 grams of fentanyl and 18 grams of cocaine. Each time, the officer asked to buy ketamine, but Mark instead provided fentanyl, sometimes mixed with other drugs.
More than 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, causing respiratory failure and death.
After obtaining an indictment in March 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Mark’s primary residence, recovering one unloaded handgun, one loaded handgun reported stolen from Virginia, cocaine, fentanyl, other drugs, drug trafficking paraphernalia, body armor, and $38,914 in cash.
Law enforcement later executed a second warrant at another residence linked to Mark, where they found his brother, 30-year-old Angelo Mark. From Angelo’s bedroom, officers recovered seven firearms, 900 rounds of ammunition, dozens of pills, cocaine, fentanyl, drug trafficking paraphernalia, and about $5,000 in cash.
On April 9, 2024, both brothers were charged in a superseding 17-count indictment alleging they participated in a broader conspiracy with other, not-yet-named individuals to distribute large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine throughout the D.C. area.
According to court records, Angelo Mark waived his right to a jury trial earlier this month and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute, as well as possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. He remains in custody ahead of a sentencing hearing scheduled for October 1.
A federal judge has ruled in favor of William Saki, an Ohio man who sued after the state rejected his request for a personalized license plate reading "GAY," which he sought to mark National Coming Out Day and "express a central part of his identity."
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) had rejected the plate as "Inappropriate/Invalid," according to its online registration tool.
Saki then tried to register other plates, including "QUEER" and "HOMO," but those were also rejected, according to the Ohio-based LGBTQ outlet The Buckeye Flame.
Sawyer Hemsley, co-founder and chief branding officer of Crumbl Cookies, recently came out as gay after an influencer's viral TikTok speculated about his sexuality.
Hemsley, who launched the billion-dollar cookie chain in 2017 with his cousin Jason McGowan while a student at Utah State, has become a prominent face of the brand on TikTok.
Hemsley addressed the speculation in an Instagram post, writing, "here have been people online trying to define me, twist things, and share conversations that feel harmful. Instead of letting others write my story, I want to share it in my own words. The truth is, over the past few years I've come to understand and accept that I'm gay."
Reports that the person who fatally shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk had left behind bullet casings engraved with phrases espousing "transgender ideology" have been debunked.
The rumor spread quickly after conservative commentator Steven Crowder posted to X on the morning of September 11 -- the day after the shooting -- claiming he had received an email from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives officer describing such engravings.
Crowder shared what he said was an email from an ATF officer claiming investigators had recovered the weapon used in Kirk's killing, with one spent cartridge in the chamber and three rounds still in the magazine. The email further alleged the cartridges were engraved with "transgender and anti-fascist ideology."
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