ATF: Mill Creek man pushed pills to feed rap dream
Would-be star paid other rappers to preform with him, feds contend
By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Described by authorities as major distributor of prescription pain pills, Jevon Lawson was also a man with a dream.
In recently unsealed statements filed as part of a long-running federal probe, law officers describe the Mill Creek resident as a high-rolling heavyweight drug dealer who brought hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of the prescription pain medicine oxycodone into Washington state.
One informant told investigators that Lawson -- a multiple felon known as "Goldie" who also is facing a federal bank robbery charge -- received "bowling ball" size bags of pain pills from a source in California, according to court documents filed prior to raids conducted in recent weeks. Lawson's supply is alleged to have been so great that he sold pills at half their street value and continued to turn a profit.
With that money, the 37-year-old built a studio, founded a record label -- Paper Route Records -- and paid better-known hip-hop artists to perform with him in an effort to launch a rap career, according to the federal filings. One alleged partner in crime, 31-year-old Karmen Wendt, launched an Everett boutique that federal authorities now claim was dealing in chic counterfeit jeans.
In the same search warrant documents made public earlier this week, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent also said two music promoters who spoke with investigators about Lawson's musical ambitions are behind bars after a shootout with Arizona police that saw a Phoenix-area officer and two suspects killed.
From cocaine to pills
A multi-agency task force launched an investigation into Lawson in 2007. In the months that followed, the ATF agent told the court, a series of informants bought cocaine and Oxycontin from Lawson and Wendt.
Agents initially raided Lawson's Mill Creek home in June 2008. Speaking with police, the ATF agent said, Lawson claimed to lead a California-based gang, admitted to selling crack and said he'd recently gotten into selling pills.
"He stated that he quit selling crack several months prior to the search warrant because he was tired of getting late night phone calls," the ATF agent told the court, "and he discovered that he could make more money with his involvement in Oxycontin."
"Investigation over the following two years … revealed that Lawson and Wendt have continued distributing large amounts of Oxycontin, transporting the drug from California through gang members and affiliates," she continued.
The ATF agent went on to claim that one of Lawson's associates, who has not yet been indicted in U.S. District Court, supplied another Everett-area drug ring.
According to the search warrant affidavit, investigators believe Lawson's drugs were being flown into Seattle from the Los Angeles area aboard commercial flights. They also contend Lawson lost large sums of money at Sea-Tac International Airport to airport security and carelessness.
In one instance, an alleged associate of Lawson's was stopped at Sea-Tac with $71,275 in cash stowed in his clothing, the ATF agent told the court. In another, investigators say Lawson may have lost $260,000 in a rental car.
The ATF agent noted that, despite having minimal recorded income, Lawson and Wendt moved large amounts of cash through their bank accounts and bought expensive automobiles.
Among the cars searched or seized as part of the interagency probe were a 2003 Land Rover, a BMW sport-utility vehicle and a tricked-out 1972 Buick Skylark. Until recently, the ATF agent said, Lawson drove a champagne-colored Hummer.
'His lavish lifestyle'
Beginning in March, a pair of Phoenix music promoters working with law enforcement -- John Webber and Thandika Singleton -- started reporting on Lawson's activities. Their cooperation, though, lost much of its value after both were charged in a shootout that saw an undercover narcotics officer killed in suburban Phoenix.
"Webber and Singleton were not DEA or (Snohomish Regional Drug Taskforce) informants and were not working off any charges," the ATF agent in the Lawson investigation told the court. "Rather, they were providing information in the hope of a monetary reward by requesting a cut of any seizures made by law enforcement through their assistance."
On March 2, four members of the Snohomish County interagency team flew to Phoenix to meet the men.
Speaking with investigators, Singleton and Webber said Lawson paid them to set up gigs with more notable hip-hop artists in an effort to launch his music career.
Performing under the stage name "SWAG," Lawson joined late-1990s rap star Juvenile at a Marysville show after paying Juvenile $40,000 to perform, the ATF agent told the court. Lawson, the agent continued, also paid rapper Jim Jones $100,000 to perform with him at an Everett show.
Webber and Singleton told investigators Lawson was not making any money off his music, according to court documents. He hadn't been "booked" -- nobody had offered to pay him to perform.
"Lawson is spending very large amounts of money trying to make it in the music industry to support his lavish lifestyle," the ATF agent told the court.
According to the search warrant affidavit, they also helped Lawson set up events in the Phoenix area, including a $30,000 weekend during the NBA All-Star Game in 2009.
Webber and Singleton were arrested in July after a drug sting went bad in Phoenix.
According to an Arizona Republic report, 34-year-old Officer Carlos Ledesma and two other undercover officers with the Chandler Police Department entered a south Phoenix home to sell 500 pounds of marijuana as part of a sting operation.
In the gunfight that followed, Lesesma was killed and two other officers were wounded; two suspects also were killed, and a third was wounded.
Webber and Singleton were among eight people charged in the shootout, according to The Arizona Republic. While at least two other suspects are facing possible death sentences, Webber and Singleton are not.
Days after the shootout, a taskforce detective found an online "shout out" to Singleton posted by Lawson. The clip has since been removed.
Boutique also targeted
In a co-occurring investigation, agents raided an Everett boutique affiliated with Went and alleged to have dealt in counterfeit luxury goods.
Writing the court, a Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent said taskforce members bought counterfeit clothing and jewelry at the boutique -- Mimi's Urban Wear -- on several occasions.
The ICE agent went on to claim that Wendt attempted to explain to an undercover officer how she could cut the price of a pair of True Religion jeans from $319 to $80 and sell a pair of 7 for All Mankind jeans for $20.
"The undercover officers commented that this was really cheap and Wendt said that it was because the jeans had been in the store for a while," the ICE agent told the court.
Taskforce officers searched the boutique on Dec. 16, seizing dozens of pairs of jeans, as well as other clothing and documentation, according to court documents.
The same day, agents searched five cars, three properties and several safe-deposit boxes associated with Lawson. According to court documents, agents seized paperwork and other items alleged to be related to drug sales.
Wendt, Lawson and a third man have been charged with several drug offenses in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Lawson also has outstanding bank-robbery and gun-possession charges pending in federal court, related to a 2005 bank holdup in Everett.
Lawson remains confined at the SeaTac Federal Detention Center. Wendt was also detained but has since been released.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or
[email protected]. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.
