FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS U.S.-JAMAICAN CITIZEN IN MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT LINKED TO INTERNATIONAL COCAINE TRAFFICKING OPERATION

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA — A federal jury has convicted a dual U.S.-Jamaican citizen of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the killing of the mother of his child, a crime prosecutors established was motivated by his attempt to eliminate child support obligations and regain his ability to travel internationally.

Antwan Denetrick Hue, 42, was found guilty on October 28, 2026, of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, murder for hire, murder while engaged in drug trafficking, and conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine. The verdict follows a federal investigation into a criminal organization that transported substantial quantities of cocaine from the Caribbean into the United States between 2015 and 2019. Hue faces a mandatory life sentence when he appears for sentencing on March 4, 2027.

According to evidence presented at trial, Hue managed the international trafficking organization alongside Regina Sade Chen, also known as Erica Williams, 36. Their operation imported multi-kilogram shipments of cocaine from Caribbean locations, including Jamaica, while using couriers to move narcotics into the United States and transport proceeds outside the country. Among those recruited were Kayla Bedessie, 34, and Deshawn Hassan Mercer, 33. Hue regularly traveled between the United States, Jamaica, and other Caribbean nations to coordinate activities with members of the organization.

The murder conspiracy developed after Hue attempted to renew his expiring American passport in 2016. Federal authorities informed him that outstanding child support payments owed to the mother of his minor son made him ineligible for renewal. Rather than resolving the financial obligation, Hue arranged in November 2016 for Mercer and Zquan Leon Steeps, 32, to kill the child’s mother, believing her death would terminate the payments preventing him from obtaining a new passport.

On December 4, 2016, Mercer, Steeps, and Denasha Campbell, who is now deceased, traveled to the woman’s home in Norfolk. Campbell approached the residence and asked to use the telephone. Once the victim responded, Mercer and Steeps forced their way inside and fatally shot her in front of her nine-year-old child. The attackers fled, leaving the child to contact emergency services by calling 911.

The evidence also established that Hue learned the killing did not automatically terminate his child support obligations. On December 24, 2016, he negotiated with the victim’s mother, seeking an arrangement under which she would receive full custody of his son in exchange for his release from future child support payments.

Hue eventually obtained a renewed passport on October 22, 2018, after submitting an application citing an urgent need to travel to Montego Bay, Jamaica. His international trafficking activities later drew federal enforcement action. In August 2019, the Department of Homeland Security arrested him in Florida while he attempted to take possession of a kilogram of cocaine.

Four other conspirators have already entered guilty pleas in connection with the investigation. Chen pleaded guilty on August 29, 2024, to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute cocaine. She faces a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment. Bedessie entered a guilty plea to the same conspiracy charge on that date and was sentenced on September 8, 2025, to 70 months in federal prison.

Mercer and Steeps pleaded guilty in October 2024 to conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Both face mandatory life imprisonment for their participation in the killing.

The verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia announced the outcome alongside FBI Richmond Special Agent in Charge Ian Kaufmann and Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., Acting Special Agent in Charge Kai Wah Chan. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla and Brian J. Samuels are prosecuting the case.

The prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, an interagency federal enforcement effort addressing transnational criminal organizations, narcotics trafficking, organized violence, and related offenses. The Washington, D.C., task force brings together federal investigative agencies, including the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and other law enforcement partners.

There is no parole in the federal prison system.

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