Detroit Victory Inn drug trafficker sentenced to 28 years in prison
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The ringleader of a drug trafficking ring out of a now-demolished Detroit motel was sentenced to 28 years in prison this week.
Darrick Bell, 55, was convicted of three drug-related charges after a trial that lasted more than a month and included testimony from more than 20 witnesses. The jury acquitted Bell on one count involving sex trafficking and was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the remaining four counts involving sex trafficking.
Bell sold drugs to vulnerable women to control them. He then would move them into the Victory Inn on Michigan Avenue near Wyoming, and turned the motel into a drug-dealing operation.
According to testimony from the trial, the motel was often full of women living in what was described as "unspeakable conditions." The women would use drugs that Bell provided to them, engage in commercial sex acts, and then would use the money from their dates to purchase more drugs.
Bell and others would use violence or the threat of violence to keep control of the women, authorities said. Sometimes, he would withhold drugs from them, leading them to experience withdraw.
Police busted the operation in 2017, but Bell wasn't arrested until 2019.
"Today’s sentencing closes a chapter on the house of horrors that was the Victory Inn. Just as the motel was demolished, so too was the drug network Bell had organized and led for nearly a year. Bell’s rein and control over the women living at the Victory Inn was nothing short of abhorrent," said U.S. Attorney Ison. "Bell’s attempt at evading justice for over two and a half years failed, and he will now spend the next 35 years in prison for his actions."