Salem man pleads guilty to federal drug charge

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ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - A Salem man who trafficked cocaine from Atlanta into the Roanoke Valley, plead guilty on Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke.

Broderick Lamar Shovely Jr., 36, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

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"The United States Attorney's Office will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to take the dangerous combination of drugs and guns off our streets," United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said on Wednesday. "This defendant was a drug trafficker who brought large amounts of cocaine into Roanoke and possessed an array of firearms while dealing. Our city is safer with him now in prison."

According to evidence presented at Tuesday's hearing, law enforcement officers were conducting surveillance outside of Shovely's residence in Salem on June 6, 2014 after receiving information that he was selling crack cocaine. Officers observed Shovely leave his residence and a traffic stop was conducted on the car Shovely was driving.

During that traffic stop and after being alerted by a free air sniff by a K9 officer, officers searched Shovely's vehicle and found a .45-caliber handgun, a Glock .45-caliber handgun and a .380-caliber handgun. In addition, officers found two pieces of off-white chunky material. A search warrant for Shovely's home was obtained and later executed, where officers found approximately 703 grams of cocaine hidden in a computer hard drive in a bedroom. Multiple firearms, including one firearm located with the cocaine, were also found during the execution of the search warrant at Shovely's residence.

After being provided his Miranda Rights, Shovely admitted to trafficking cocaine from Atlanta, Georgia to Roanoke, Virginia for at least the last year. Shovely admitted that he paid $19,800 for 18 ounces of cocaine from his source in Atlanta and would then transport that cocaine back to Roanoke for distribution. Shovely also admitted the cocaine was often cooked into crack cocaine and he would then sell it from a home on Gilmer Avenue in Roanoke.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Salem Police Department, the Roanoke City Police Department, the Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley B. Neese prosecuted the case for the United States.