DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264
Two Members of Family who Participated in Drug and Prostitution Ring Sentenced to Life in Prison CHARLOTTE, NC - Tracy Howard, 25, of Charlotte, his mother, Ila Little Howard, 43, and brother, David Howard, 26, along with a fourth co-conspirator were sentenced today in federal court for their participation in a drug and prostitution ring in the Charlotte metropolitan area which involved female juvenile runaways. Tracy Howard and his brother David Howard were sentenced to life in prison. Tracy Howard, David Howard, and Nicholas Jermain Ragin, 26, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit coercion and enticement of women, including juveniles, to engage in prostitution, as well as conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute over 50 grams of crack cocaine (cocaine base) following a three-week federal jury trial in U.S. District Court in Charlotte before the Honorable Robert J. Conrad, Jr., presiding judge, in April 2006. Tracy Howard was also convicted of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Ila Little Howard had earlier entered a guilty plea to counts of conspiracy, money laundering, money laundering conspiracy, and drug conspiracy. Finally, a fifth defendant defendant, Oscar Mario Solano-Sanchez, was also found guilty of drug conspiracy. The case was investigated by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“Today represents the end of a great threat to our city,” said U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert of the Western District of North Carolina. “By removing the Howard organization and its drugs and forced prostitution from the streets of Charlotte, local and federal officers and agents have done our community a great service.”
U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. sentenced Tracy Howard to life plus 60 months in federal prison. Defendants David Howard, Ila Mae Little Howard, Nicholas Ragin, and Oscar Mario Solano-Sanchez were also sentenced today as follows:
David Howard: Life imprisonment
Ila Little Howard: 210 months’ imprisonment
Nicholas Ragin: 360 months’ imprisonment
Oscar Mario Solano-Sanchez: 151 months’ imprisonment
Scheduled for sentencing on Friday, January 19 are convicted co-defendants, Eugene William Lewis, and Keshia Burris. In a separate, but related case defendants Eugene Hardesty, and Elizabeth White will also be sentenced on January 19.
The case against Tracy Howard and others was indicted originally in October 2004, and was superseded in August 2005 to include the prostitution conspiracy and related offenses. Tracy and David Howard, Nicholas Ragin, and Oscar Mario Solano-Sanchez went to trial in April 2006, Ila Mae Little Howard, Eugene William Lewis, and Keshia Burris entered pleas of guilty. Tracy Howard, Solano-Sanchez, David Howard, and Nicholas Ragin have all remained in federal custody since their first arrest in late 2004.
The two-year investigation was conducted by officers of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit and agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen S. Marston and Craig D. Randall prosecuted the case.