In a courtroom devoid of sympathy for a Columbus drug lord, David Price, nicknamed "DP," received a severe judgment reflecting the gravity of his numerous crimes. Sentenced today to life plus an additional 65 years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Price's list of offenses encompasses a smorgasbord of illicit activities, from narcotics distribution of dangerous drugs like fentanyl and cocaine to the dehumanizing practice of sex trafficking through means of coersion, violence, and manipulation of drug dependency.
An extensive investigation trailing back to 2008, which culminated in the dismantling of Price's operation in 2022, first cracked open the door to this criminal underworld. With Price distributing deadly substances within the shadows of an elementary school, and the blood of a female victim—a potential informant—on his hands, the case presented by U.S. Attorneys Prichard and Czerniejewski was crystal clear. Price, deliberately mixing narcotics that led to the fatal overdose because she "was talking to the police," marked him not just as a trafficker but a murderer.
The ledger of Price's inhumanity extends even into the depths of sexual exploitation. Withdrawing drugs to manipulate addicted women, forcing them to perform commercial sex acts, he transformed agony into obedience. Court documents revealed the grim details of women locked in his residence, sometimes in a dog cage, subjected to gunshots, stabbings, and suffocations—punishments for the enslaved who dared to defy or failed to yield to his demands.
A consortium of local and federal agencies, from the Columbus Police Division to the DEA and FBI, poured their resources into disarming Price's network. The collaboration as part of Operation Take Back America was an undertaking to repel "the invasion of illegal immigration," and strike at the heart of cartels and criminal organizations, said a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office. On the operation's spearhead, Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Norris commended the efforts of the numerous enforcement divisions involved, seizing over $1.7 million in assets, 50 firearms, and a fleet of vehicles connected to the syndicate.
The monstrosity of Price's reign over vulnerable lives has been duly answered by the justice system's full might. For the communities he sowed with fear, this sentence is a long-awaited closing of a chapter written in violence and addiction, delivering a stern message to those who would follow in his footsteps.
