Virginia Car Dealer Heads to Prison for 40 Years After Storing ‘Massive’ Amounts of Pot in Vehicles
For three years, cars parked at Lux Auto in Newport News, Virginia, were allegedly packed with marijuana, turning the dealer inventory into rolling storage units for a large-scale drug operation.
On Friday, December 12, a judge sentenced Cortez Dayshawn Bumphus, 33, to 40 years in federal prison. The jury convicted him of leading the illegal operation across the Hampton Roads region.
Court records show Bumphus and his co-conspirators used the dealer parking lot as their hub
Reportedly, the crew hid drugs inside cars scattered around the property. Investigators said members of the group often carried handguns and other weapons while on the dealer lot.
Between August 2020 and August 2023, law enforcement seized nearly $400,000 in drug proceeds and about 1,000 pounds of marijuana tied to the case.
Those seizures happened largely at major airports across the Mid-Atlantic, where couriers flew to meet suppliers, delivered cash, and returned to Virginia carrying drugs.
Leaders coordinated purchases from outside the state, while midlevel members handled distribution and sales once the loads arrived.
In its press release, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia reported the sentence reflected both Bumphus’s leadership role and the size of the operation.
The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office explained the case was the result of sustained work by a joint task force. The effort included Virginia State Police and local departments in Newport News and Hampton.
Dozens more charged in the same car dealer case
Authorities charged 37 defendants in a 127-count superseding indictment returned in September 2023.
In July, a jury found Bumphus guilty of running a continuing criminal enterprise, multiple drug and money laundering conspiracies, firearms offenses, maintaining a drug-involved premises, and using communication devices to further trafficking.
Beyond prison time, the court ordered a $6.396 million money judgment. Prosecutors also secured forfeiture of more than $62,000 in cash, designer shoes and accessories, and four firearms.
