Brothers sentenced to prison for federal drug trafficking and firearms convictions

RICHMOND, Va. - A Hopewell man was sentenced today to four years and six months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

According to court documents, on Dec. 19, 2022, Virginia State Police (VSP) encountered Eric Michael Vaughan Jr., 32, in a Hopewell motel room when VSP executed a search warrant on the room. The room was rented by Vaughan's brother, Quadir McKinnon, 34, of Hopewell, who previously sold 74.37 grams of cocaine, 4.43 grams of heroin, and 96.73 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential source. VSP recovered four firearms, 27.74 grams of cocaine, and 5.93 grams of a mixture containing heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl from the room.

On Jan. 18, 2023, VSP apprehended McKinnon during a traffic stop. Vaughan was in the vehicle with McKinnon. In plain view on the center console of the vehicle was a loaded 9mm handgun. When McKinnon stepped out of the vehicle, a backpack that had also been present in the motel room during the search warrant was tangled in his feet. Inside the backpack were 41.85 grams of cocaine and 6.99 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale, baggies, and marijuana.

Under the front passenger seat, where Vaughan was sitting, was a loaded 9mm handgun and on the seat was a loose 9mm hollow-point round. In Vaughan's pockets were .35 grams of a mixture of heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl and .76 grams of cocaine.

On July 16, 2012, Vaughan, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, and a co-defendant robbed individuals in a home in Petersburg. Vaughan was convicted of eleven felonies, including robbery, burglary, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, and abduction. Vaughan was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Less than two months after Vaughan was released from prison, Vaughan threw a firearm from the window of his vehicle as a VSP Trooper attempted to stop him for speeding. Vaughan was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon, reckless driving, eluding police, and driving without a license. Vaughan was sentenced to two years and 8 months in prison. Vaughan was on pre-trial release for those charges when he was encountered in the motel room on Dec. 19, 2022, and when he was arrested with his brother on Jan. 18, 2023. As a previously convicted felon, Vaughan cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition.

McKinnon pled guilty on Sept. 13, 2023, to possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. On Jan. 31, McKinnon, a career offender, was sentenced to 14 years and seven months in prison.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; James VanVliet, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division, and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent, made the announcement after Vaughan was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Wright prosecuted the cases. Former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon E. Schulz, an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General's Office, assisted in the prosecution of this case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 3:23-cr-152 (Vaughan) and 3:23-cr-116 (McKinnon).