The leader of a heavily armed Honolulu drug trafficking organization that marketed deadly fentanyl-laced mixes of opioids, heroin and methamphetamine will serve 30 years in federal prison.
Gabriel Antone Eberhardt, aka “Stacks,” 42, of Detroit, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake to 30 years in federal prison for leading a group of at least 10 people from Hawaii, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California and Florida who were found with rifles, handguns and more than $250,000 in cash stashed in cars and storage units on Oahu.
Otake gave Eberhardt 12 years for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine, and 18 years for firing a gun while selling heroin, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
When he gets out of federal prison, Eberhardt will serve five years of supervised release. In an April 8 plea agreement, Eberhardt pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin; using a gun while selling drugs; and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
He must forfeit $253,234 in drug proceeds, multiple firearms including two Bushmaster rifles, 131 rounds of ammunition and a 2016 Dodge Charger. Additional firearms and ammunition were administratively forfeited by the government.
“Increasingly, the influx of illegal, deadly narcotics through transnational distribution operations is accompanied by gun violence, which has exponentially harmful consequences for our community,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors, in a statement. “This large-scale prosecution reflects the highest level of cooperation among multiple federal and local law enforcement entities, and … affirms that there will be accountability for those who profit from causing such harm in our state.”
Eberhardt was indicted Aug. 19, 2021, with Jason Darnell Smith, aka “Famous” or “Sweets,” who the U.S. Department of Justice described in court documents as Eberhardt’s partner in leading the drug trafficking organization, which sometimes arranged drug sales in the parking lots of shopping centers.
The pair is accused of selling opioids such as oxycodone tablets and counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and oxycodone, methamphetamine and fentanyl-laced heroin, often referred to as “Afghan White.”
On Oct. 19, 2021, Eberhardt met three people in the parking lot of a grocery store on South Beretania Street to complete a heroin deal, according to the plea agreement filed April 8.
Documents show that Eberhardt and one of the three people at the deal got into an argument, and one of the buyers flashed an air soft pistol at Eberhardt before getting out of his car. Eberhardt drove his car to block the escape of the three buyers in their car and went to get his gun. He then opened fire with at least three shots, hitting one of the buyers with a bullet that went through his chest.
On one occasion, Eberhardt negotiated with an undercover HPD detective to sell 25 grams of “Ghan,” a street drug containing fentanyl, for $6,000. Another time he allegedly arranged the sale of a drug called Gray Death for $10,000.
On June 30 and July 1, 2021, Honolulu police and agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration seized $121,131 from a storage unit on Waialae Avenue, $102,919 from a storage unit on Hila Place in Pearl City, $24,327.41 from a bag stashed in a black Mercedes-Benz and $4,857 from a Young Street residence, according to federal court records.
Also on June 30, 2021, investigators searched a storage unit on Kawa Street in Kaneohe, the Young Street residence and the Mercedes and uncovered a cache of weapons that included a Romarm/Cugir 5.45×39 mm rifle, a Smith &Wesson 9 mm handgun, a Sig-Sauer .45-caliber pistol, two Bushmaster Firearms .223 5.56 mm-caliber rifles, an Olympic Arms .223 5.56 mm rifle, body armor, a HS Produkt .45-caliber handgun, and rounds and magazines of ammunition.
“The success of this investigation is directly attributable to multi-agency cooperation and the shared commitment to making Honolulu safer for our residents and visitors,” said HPD Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan in a statement. “The Honolulu Police Department will continue to work closely with our Federal partners to identify, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating across Oahu.”
Eberhardt was previously convicted of felony assault with intent to murder and a felony firearm offense in Michigan in 2000, and was sentenced to 15 to 25 years in jail, according to court documents.
“This case serves as a warning that we will use every resource available to make our communities safer by dismantling their operations and bringing their members to justice,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill in a statement.
Others also indicted as members of Eberhardt’s drug trafficking organization were Martzes Junior, aka “Green”; Jennifer Ashcraft, aka “Jessie”; Jared Northern, aka “White Boy Jay” or “Gage”; Isaiah Marks, aka “Seh”; “Zakiyyah Mareus, aka “Kai”; Tishanah Iwalani Kaio-Barrozo; Michael Garrett, aka “Sideburns” or “Burns”; Lynden David Lightburn, aka “Soulja”; and Robert Adams, aka “Tre.”
The joint investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation, which finds and “disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, DEA, Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and HPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig S. Nolan is prosecuting the case.
