Gloucester man sentenced to 35 years in drug case

A Gloucester man was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk to 35 years in prison for his part in a drug conspiracy.

John Curtis Ewell, 28, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and possessing a firearm in a drug trafficking crime. Under a plea agreement with the federal government in November, the remaining nine charges were dropped.

U.S. District Judge Walter D. Kelley Jr. sentenced Ewell to 30 years on the drug conspiracy charge and five years on the firearm charge. The various drug sales, between 2001 and 2007, took place in Gloucester County, Mathews County and in Newport News.

Citing Ewell's prior criminal record, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Putney urged Kelley to sentence Ewell to between 30 years to life on the drug charge and five years on the firearm charge. "Sentencing break after sentencing break have not taught defendant Ewell anything but to break the law evermore," Putney wrote in a court filing.

Ewell tried to withdraw his guilty plea earlier this month, but Kelley rejected his request.