Georgia man sentenced to 35 years for drug trafficking

NORFOLK, Va. – A 35-year-old man from Alpharetta, Georgia, was sentenced Monday to 420 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and one kilogram or more of heroin. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). 

Steve Jacob Joseph and his co-conspirator, Nicole Felicia Clark, were found guilty Dec. 5 after a three-day trial by a federal jury. According to court records and evidence at trial, Joseph and Clark were both members of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that transported cocaine and heroin to the Norfolk area from New York and Atlanta. Clark transported kilograms of cocaine and heroin from Georgia to Virginia in a secret compartment of a 2007 GMC Yukon SUV, and she transported hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money back to Atlanta. Joseph managed the drug operation in Atlanta. He loaded cocaine and heroin into the GMC Yukon so Clark could deliver it to Virginia. Joseph also handled money generated by drug sales in Virginia and paid the group’s California supplier. 

On Nov. 4, 2013, Clark was arrested by Clayton County Police Department officers following a traffic stop of the GMC Yukon in suburban Atlanta. During the stop, the investigating officer conducted a search of the Yukon, discovered the secret compartment with 2.5 kilograms of cocaine and 595 grams of heroin inside. Trial testimony indicated that Clark was in the process of transporting the seized drugs to Norfolk. Clayton County Police Department officers arrested Joseph later that evening in a car stereo installation shop named JMW Customs Auto in Rex, Georgia.  Police seized approximately $10,000 in cash from Joseph. The police also seized a DVR security camera system from the shop which included videos of Joseph and Clark placing items in the secret compartment in the GMC Yukon.     

Clark, 36, of Ellenwood, Georgia, was found guilty of three counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and was sentenced March 20 to 240 months in prison.