Wallingford Couple Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Heroin Aboard USS Bush

Wallingford’s Donald G. McManus, 22, and Breanna L. McManus, 23, have pleaded guilty to distributing heroin aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier that ultimately led to the overdose of an active duty sailor.

Donald McManus and his wife, Breanna, entered a guilty plea in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia on Thursday, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The couple was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 2, 2015.

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According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreements, Donald McManus was an active duty sailor in the United States Navy assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier in February 2015.

While in a restricted status on-board the USS Bush, Donald McManus had his wife smuggle heroin and syringes aboard the aircraft carrier, according to the release.

The McManus couple sold heroin to another sailor who was later found unresponsive on the floor in the ship’s berthing area.

The USS Bush’s medical personnel immediately responded and worked with emergency medical technicians in an attempt to save the sailor’s life. The overdose victim was without a detectable pulse until medical personnel were able to resuscitate the sailor.

Donald and Breanna McManus were charged by criminal complaint on Aug. 13, 2015.

Donald McManus will be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2016, and Breanna McManus will be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2016. Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and Tim Quick, Special Agent in Charge of NCIS’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after the pleas were accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

This case was investigated by NCIS’s Norfolk Field Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyssa Nichol, Virginia Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Bosse are prosecuting the case.