Convicted cocaine dealer awaits sentencing
They called him Bubba and his job was to keep the cocaine safe.
On his boss’s orders in January 2016, he sold two ounces from the stash he was storing. But unbeknownst to him, the buyer was a police agent.
Bubba, whose real name is Kevin Lewis, pleaded guilty Friday to drug trafficking. Lewis, 30, remains free on bail pending a sentencing hearing in January.
Reading the background of the case into the court record Friday, assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Holmes said Lewis came to be arrested as part of an investigation that began in April 2015.
Police tapped the cellphone of Lakeshore resident Franco Carmelo Marentette-DeRose, intercepting phone calls, texts and video calls. They believed he was the head of a local crime group involved in smuggling guns purchased in Michigan across the border to be sold to street gangs in the Greater Toronto Area.
Police employed a paid agent and two undercover officers in the yearlong investigation they dubbed Project Kirby. Police learned the gun-running ring was also involved in drug trafficking, so on Jan. 6, 2016, an undercover agent contacted Marentette-DeRose and arranged to purchase cocaine, court heard.
Police were listening in as Marentette-DeRose allegedly arranged the sale. DeRose had nine ounces of cocaine, but could only spare two ounces because he needed the rest for his “main guy.”
Marentette-DeRose was allegedly vacationing in the Dominican Republic at the time, court heard. So he dispatched Lewis to meet the buyer. The transaction was recorded on a hidden camera.
Lewis was charged along with Marentette-DeRose, Danilo Frank Marentette, Justin James of London and Adonios Coutsogiannakis.
Coutsogiannakis intends to plead guilty when Lewis returns to court in January, Superior Court heard Friday. The other men appear headed for trial.
Defence lawyer Brian Dube said Lewis could plead guilty to the drug transaction, but he had no knowledge of the police investigation nor the allegations against the other men charged along with him.
Charged separately with drug crimes, but as part of the same investigation are Curtis Marcelles Elliot, Roy Hill and Kaylee Elaine Coates. Coates and Hill pleaded guilty and are serving penitentiary terms.
Police agencies, including Windsor police, Ontario Provincial Police, London police, Canada Border Services Agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were involved in the investigation.
Police held a joint news conference in March 2016 to announce they had seized eight firearms and two kilograms of cocaine. They had also seized $67,000, US$10,500 and three vehicles as proceeds of crime.