Rayful Edmond III, a one-time drug kingpin who spent more of his life in prison, died suddenly on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, within a year of his release date.
Edmond, who turned 60 in November 2024, died due to a heart attack at a facility similar to a halfway house in Florida, said bureau spokesperson Kristie Breshears.
Highlights
- On December 17, 2024, it was announced, only a few months after his release from prison, that Edmond had died from a heart attack.
- NBA stars John Turner and Alonzo Mourning were associated with d*ug kingpin Rayful Edmond III.
- Georgetown’s coach, John Thompson, met privately with Edmond and said to cease contact with Turner and Alonzo.
He had been moved this summer from a federal penitentiary to “community confinement” and was set to be released late next year.
Rayful was arrested in 1989 and initially sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole.
He was convicted of federal drug-trafficking charges in D.C. and sentenced in 1990 as the architect of a sprawling operation that smuggled as much as 1,700 pounds of c*caine into the city each month in the latter part of the 1980s.
They estimated that Edmond raked in about $2 million weekly in those years.
In August 2024, the Bureau of Prisons announced that Edmond would be moved to a step-down program under the supervision of the agency’s Nashville Residential Reentry Management Office but declined to say where, exactly, he would live.
His body showed no obvious signs of trauma, and an autopsy will be conducted, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the d*ath who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation.
Willam H. “Billy” Murphy Jr., Edmond’s lead attorney during his 1989 trial, described the kingpin and D.C. as a man of superior intellect shaped by his upbringing.
Coach John Thompson Met Rayful Edmond Following NBA Players Justin Turner And Alonzo Mourning’s Connection With Him
The prominent figures of Georgetown University’s basketball team, Justin Turner and Alonzo Mourning’s connection with Rayful Edmond III, made public in the late 1980s.
In November 1989, Alonzo testified that he made several visits to the alleged nerve center of a sizeable d*ug network but denied seeing any d*ugs there.
Mourning, who spent about 50 minutes testifying in the U.S. District Court drug trial of Rayful Edmond and 10 co-defendants, acknowledged he made two or three visits to Edmond’s home and up to 10 visits to the home of another defendant in the case.
But the sophomore center denied seeing d*ugs, large amounts of cash, or d*ug paraphernalia at either Edmond’s home or the residence of one of the co-defendants, Jerry Millington.
Edmond was also a fan of basketball and built friendships with several athletes. Alonzo was introduced to Rayful through Justin Turner.
Justin and Edmond have known each other since they were youngsters in Glenarden, Md. Their mothers worked in the same government office.
However, his connection with Justin and Alonzo raised concerns about the Georgetown team’s integrity and reputation.
How influential was Georgetown Hoyas coach John Thompson? When Thompson heard DC drug kingpin Rayful Edmond III was seen w/Alonzo Mourning, he met w/ Edmond & basically told him, “don’t f*ck w/ my players.” Edmond listened. From 1989 — https://t.co/vsCcWHyQ7x #RIPJohnThompson pic.twitter.com/nHCmTe7xbM
— Charles T (@ChuckyT3) August 31, 2020
After learning about Turner and Alonzo’s connection to Edmond, Georgetown’s coach, John Thompson, acted swiftly.
He met Rayful privately at Edmond’s office and requested that he cease contact with his players.
Edmond respected Thompson’s demand, but his presence around the team ended soon. Thompson has characterized the encounter very differently in a memoir published in December 2020.
He asked Rayful to ensure that Alonzo and John were not involved in any illegal activity. Rayful told the coach he would take care of it, and both men left the meeting agreeing and respecting each other.
Later, the coach pressured John Turner to withdraw from the school because he refused to disassociate from an alleged c*caine kingpin.
Turner was arrested at an outdoor basketball court and charged with trying to distribute crack c*caine.
A special edition of ABC’s Nightline revealed Turner’s association with Edmond. Thompson also told Alonzo and Turner to avoid Rayful and repeated the message to the entire team.
The incident protected the players and highlighted Thompson’s leadership and moral authority in saving his athletes from negative influences.
Since then, neither Turner nor Alonzo has been involved in any illegal activities. Mourning enjoyed a celebrated NBA career and earned recognition for his contributions on and off the court.
Additional Information
- Rayful Edmond’s had an estimated net worth of around $300 million.
- Edmond was born to his father, Rayful Edmond Jr., and his mother, Constance Perry.
- He was primarily responsible for having introduced crack c*caine into the Washinton, D.C. area during the crack epidemic, resulting in an escalating crime rate in the city.
