NORFOLK, Va. — Today, a federal jury in Norfolk found three local men guilty in a case linked to a drug trafficking conspiracy and a violent incident resulting in two fatalities.
Court documents and trial evidence identified 35-year-old Cortney Allen Conley of Virginia Beach, also known as KO and Allen Conley, as the leader of a significant drug trafficking network operating across state lines, primarily within the Hampton Roads area. The group, active from January 2020 to November 2022, utilized mobile “popup” shops that changed locations frequently to conduct its operations. Javaid Akhtar Reed, 27, from Chesapeake, and Kyron Speller, 29, from Norfolk, were implicated as security personnel at these transient outlets.
The events leading to the trial began in 2021 when Conley was robbed at gunpoint at one of these popups on Providence Road in Chesapeake. This incident prompted Conley and his associates to carry firearms regularly. On May 13, 2022, an attempted robbery by two armed individuals at another popup on Wintercress Way in Chesapeake escalated into a shootout. Conley and a colleague responded with gunfire, resulting in the robbers’ deaths. Following the shootout, Conley and two associates hurriedly cleared the site of drugs, cash, and weapons.
Conley’s convictions include charges of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances such as marijuana and psilocybin, alongside firearm offenses linked to his drug trafficking activities. He is facing a minimum of 35 years to a potential life sentence, with sentencing scheduled for October 25.
Reed faces similar drug trafficking and firearm charges, with a sentencing hearing set for November 15, where he could receive anywhere from seven years to life in prison.
Speller, also involved in the drug distribution network, was convicted on related drug charges and could receive up to 20 years in prison at his sentencing, also on October 25.
The sentencing will be finalized by a federal district court judge, who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, although typically, actual sentences for federal crimes are below the maximum penalties.