A U.S. District Court judge sentenced a ‘Silk Road’ drug dealer, who is connected to the overdose death of a Bellevue man, to six years in prison Tuesday.
Kevin C. Campbell, a 47-year-old man from Chicago who once worked in drug treatment, pleaded guilty to marketing, selling and distributing various drugs, such as ecstasy, marijuana, steroids, Xanax, and Valium using the dark web.
In August 2013, Campbell sold heroin and prescription medications to Jordan Mettee, a 27-year-old Bellevue man who worked at Microsoft. Mettee was found dead after shooting up with heroin.
According to records filed in the case, emergency crews were called to a Bellevue home when a house guest found Mettee unconscious in his bedroom, surrounded by evidence of recent heroin use.
On the computer in front of him was the “Silk Road” website, an online black market where illegal goods and services were anonymously marketed and sold. Messages from a vendor, later determined to be Campbell’s online identity, were found on the screen. The investigation revealed that Campbell was a drug dealer on the dark web site, sending prescription drugs and other illegal substances to customers across the country who ordered online and paid via Bitcoin.
Campbell concealed and delivered the drugs in altered DVD cases sent via the U.S. mail. One DVD case recovered near Mettee’s body was found to have Campbell’s fingerprint on it. Even after the Silk Road website was shut down by law enforcement, Campbell continued to sell drugs to customers, in one instance sending Xanax pills to a customer in Colorado who was working with law enforcement. In May 2014, law enforcement obtained a warrant to search Campbell’s Chicago home and found evidence of his drug trafficking, including a small amount of drugs, digital scales, notes, empty DVD cases, and shipping materials. The investigation revealed that Campbell did not typically distribute heroin before selling to Metee and ceased selling heroin after the death.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ordered Campbell to serve three years of supervised release following prison.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bellevue Police Department, and the Eastside Narcotics Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven Masada.
