Feb. 8—Two brothers were sentenced Thursday to more than a decade each in a multi-state drug trafficking ring that reportedly operated in Dayton and was connected to a 2019 search warrant where Dayton police Detective Jorge Del Rio was fatally shot.

Roger “Mike” Earl Walton Jr., 44, of Concord, North Carolina, was sentenced to 14 years, and Shawn “Swoop” Lee Walton, 50, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker of the Southern District of Ohio.

The brothers were accused of trafficking kilogram quantities of cocaine as part of a scheme involving four other defendants from 2014 to 2020.

“Drug trafficking, by its very nature, is devastating to communities,” said Parker. “Thanks to the work of our law enforcement partners across multiple jurisdictions, the Waltons can no longer harm our cities.”

The Waltons and four other defendants reportedly conspired to traffic at least 3,000 kilograms of drugs. Law enforcement officers seized more than 25 kilograms of cocaine and more than $1 million in cash from this operation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Members of the trafficking ring would reportedly get bulk amounts of drugs from suppliers in Los Angeles and Houston and transport them to Charlotte, North Carolina, for processing and repackaging before resale in Ohio and North Carolina.

On Nov. 4, 2019, authorities were executing a search warrant at 1454 Ruskin Road when Del Rio, who was also a DEA task force member, was shot and killed, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. The investigation was later named “Operation Never Forget.”

Noah Alexander Sherrill, 36, of Dayton was previously sentenced to four years in prison. Rauland Pollard III, 38, of Dayton was sentenced to four years and three months, according to a press release.

The remaining two defendants — 42-year-old Glynn Sewell and 26-year-old Louis Walton, both of Charlotte, North Carolina — were sentenced to eight years and four months and two years, respectively.