Pubdate: Fri, 23 Dec 2016
Source: Courier-Journal, The (Louisville, KY)
Copyright: 2016 The Courier-Journal
Contact:  http://www.courier-journal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/97
Author: Cameron Knight

COVINGTON HEROIN DEALER FACES 38 YEAR SENTENCE

A Kenton County jury recommended a 38-year sentence last week for a
Covington man who sold heroin five times to a confidential informant
with the Covington Police Department, according to the prosecutor's
office.

Donte Little will be 72 years old when he's released if he serves the
full sentence. The 33-year-old was convicted of four counts of
trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of complicity to
trafficking in a controlled substance.

The Covington Police Department's narcotics unit, known as the "D
Team," purchased more than 14 grams of heroin from Little on five
different days during the fall of 2014, prosecutors said.
Investigators testified video and audio recordings were made of the
transactions, which totaled more than $2,300.

During the final deal, the informant gave $1,000 to Little, police
said. Little then made a phone call and directed the informant to
nearby parked car.

The occupant of that car handed the informant a pair of shoes with
seven grams of heroin inside, prosecutors said.

Little was arrested in December 2015. Closing arguments were held in
his trial on Dec. 16.

Prosecutors said the jury deliberated about three and a half hours
before finding Little guilty of all five counts. After another 90
minutes of deliberation, the jury returned sentences of four years
each on two counts of trafficking, 10 years each on both the other
counts of trafficking larger quantities of heroin and 10 years for
complicity to trafficking.

The jury recommended that the sentences be served consecutively.

"Kenton County residents are sick of heroin and will show no mercy to
those making money dealing overdose deaths in our community,"
Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders said. "He may have beat some
charges across the river, but the evidence these detectives collected
was too strong and our prosecutors are too seasoned for Mr. Little to
get away with dealing drugs in Kentucky."

Little will be formally sentenced in January by Kenton Circuit Judge
Kathleen Lape.
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