Cake Shop Sold Cocaine As Well As Cakes

The name of the Virginia Beach business was "G's Cake Shop — Cake For All Occasions."

But the following name apparently is more accurate: "G's Coke Shop — Coke For All Occasions."

And we're not talking soda pop, here, boys and girls.

Vernon Michael Norvell, 43, of Portsmouth, was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison for cocaine distribution and money laundering.

With a plea agreement, he also will pay $690,000 in criminal forfeiture.

Norvell pleaded guilty on April 4. According to court documents, Norvell distributed more than 126 pounds of cocaine both at his cake shop and his home in Portsmouth as well as a Food Lion parking lot in the latter city.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Norvell sometimes accepted between $60,000 and $70,000 a week for cocaine.

Norvell and his wife, 31-year-old Cheron Johnson, used the proceeds of his cocaine distribution to purchase a house, several automobiles, expensive clothing and other material items.

On five occasions from October 2014 to July 2015, the DEA, in partnership with the Chesapeake and Portsmouth Police Department, conducted controlled purchases of cocaine and crack from Norvell.

In addition to the drug and money laundering crimes, according to court documents, from 2012 to 2014, Norvell and Johnson reported a combined adjusted gross income of $157,916, yet during that same period they deposited $926,854, including $338,860 in cash, into nearly a dozen bank accounts, including one offshore account located in Curaҫao.

From January 2011 through August 2015 the couple deposited $468,500 in cash into their accounts.