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By KEITH EPPS
A young woman who police say headed a major drug-dealing operation in the Fredericksburg area pleaded guilty to two charges yesterday.
Joni Renee "Summa" Grizzard, 20, was convicted of conspiracy and distributing illegal drugs in Stafford Circuit Court.
She faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in prison and a $1 million fine when she is sentenced July 7.
Grizzard and 10 others have been charged in connection with an operation that police said funneled between 3 to 5 kilos of cocaine a month into the Fredericksburg area. The group also distributed ecstasy and marijuana, according to testimony.
Grizzard was indicted by a Stafford grand jury in October, but eluded capture until January, when she was apprehended at a home in Connecticut.
Three others associated with Grizzard's organization were in court yesterday. Marlo D. McQuillar, 23, and Francis C. Stotmeister IV, 25, both pleaded pleaded guilty to conspiracy.
Samuel T. Ensley, 29, also known as "Capone" and "Esco," is having a jury trial on his conspiracy charge. The trial will resume this morning and Ensley is expected to testify.
Ensley was described in testimony yesterday as the co-leader of Grizzard's organization. Prosecutor Sarah Deneke's witnesses against Ensley included McQuillar and Stotmeister.
Both men gave the jury detailed insight into the Fredericksburg area drug trade.
Stotmeister, who took the witness stand against Ensley minutes after pleading guilty in his own case, said he regularly delivered drugs from Grizzard and Ensley to the street dealers.
He was then responsible for collecting the money the dealers made and bringing it to the leaders.
The cocaine sold for about $900 an ounce, both men testified. McQuillar said he also sold ecstasy for about $120 a pill.
During a four-month stretch last year, Stotmeister said, he received between 4 and 6 ounces of cocaine per week to distribute to the dealers.
At first he dealt primarily with Grizzard, but Ensley soon became a primary contact as well.
Both Stotmeister and McQuillar testified that their customers were often dissatisfied with the cocaine they provided. Stotmeister said that was because Grizzard diluted the cocaine by mixing it with another substance.
The practice more than doubled the amount of drugs that could be sold, he said.
Stotmeister said that Grizzard and Ensley were romantically involved at one point, but had a falling out.
Stotmeister said he then ditched "Capone," whom he owed $4,500, and went into business exclusively with Grizzard.
The cocaine he dealt came from New York, Baltimore and North Carolina, said Stotmeister, who is free on bond pending his sentencing Aug. 10.
McQuillar said he, too, got caught in the middle of the Grizzard-Ensley dispute last year and got threats from both of them.
He said Ensley threatened to "off" one of his friends, and Grizzard threatened to tell Ensley where [McQuillar's] mother lived if he didn't work for her.
At the time of her arrest, police said, Grizzard took over the drug-dealing operation from Alphonso Bennett, her former boyfriend who is now serving a life sentence on a murder conviction.
Ensley was a close friend of Bennett's, witnesses said. Cases involving the other co-defendants are still pending.
In court records, police said the drug ring involved about 20 people and netted Grizzard about $50,000 a month.
Sales occurred in Stafford, Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg and King George, police said.
When in the Fredericksburg area, witnesses said, Grizzard and Ensley stayed primarily at a motel near Spotsylvania Mall.
The Drug Enforcement Administration assisted local detectives in the investigation. Stafford Detective John Hughes headed the local efforts.
To reach KEITH EPPS:
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com
