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CHICAGO - The leader of a drug trafficking organization who supplied heroin to an illegal open-air market on the West Side of Chicago has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
Levaughn Collins, 41, pleaded guilty in 2019 to federal drug and firearm charges.
He was sentenced Tuesday after a hearing in federal court.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Division, Collins obtained bulk quantities of heroin and provided it to numerous associates.
The associates then processed and packaged the drugs for street-level sales.
Many of the sales occurred at an illegal open-air market in the 3700 block of West Grenshaw Street in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood, authorities said.
Collins obtained significant profits from the sale of heroin.
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During the investigation, law enforcement searched Collins' residence and discovered a Maserati automobile, $50,000 in cash and more than $400,000 worth of jewelry.
During a search of another location, which Collins utilized to stash the heroin, authorities found 10 firearms, many of which were loaded and equipped with extended magazines.
"The defendant financed his lifestyle by taking advantage of those addicted to heroin," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott M. Edenfield and Jared C. Jodrey argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. "Drug trafficking, at any level, is a serious offense that has well-documented deleterious effects not only on traffickers and users, but on the community at large."