Judge Brantley Starr sentenced Jamarian Hewitt to 447 months in the Operation Blue Laces case.

Wednesday's 447 months is the sentence Judge Brantley Starr imposed on the April jury verdict. FOX 4's age of 39 and the verdict announcement's age of 40 are not the same number, and the two accounts do not print the same list of counts. The verdict announcement had set sentencing for Aug. 12, and the term reported this week was imposed Oct. 28.

The Dallas Morning News reported that Jamarian Hewitt, a member of the Four-Deuce Oakland Crips, was sentenced Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, to 447 months by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr after a federal jury convicted him in April of drug trafficking, conspiracy, and firearms offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas. FOX 4, in a story by Sierra Rains published Oct. 29, 2026, at 10:24 p.m. CDT, reported that Jamarian Hewitt, 39, was sentenced Oct. 28 to more than 37 years, and it did not print the judge's name or the figure 447 months. Four hundred forty-seven months is 37 years and 3 months. More than 37 years and 447 months are two ways of describing that term. FOX 4 said its account came from a Department of Justice press release. The Morning News attributed the sentence to the U.S. Attorney's Office. FOX 4 quoted U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould: "For years, residents along the Malcolm X corridor lived with the fear and lawlessness that this defendant and his gang helped create. Today's sentence of more than 37 years sends a clear message: those who terrorize our neighborhoods with drugs and firearms will face serious federal consequences."

The U.S. Attorney's Office announcement of the verdict said a jury convicted Jamarian Augustus Hewitt, also known as Zillionaire JJ, 40, of Dallas, on Thursday, April 9, 2026, after a four-day trial. It said the jury convicted him of trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine, conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana, two counts of firearm possession in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, one count of using a cell phone in furtherance of a drug offense, and one count of illegal firearm possession by a convicted felon. FOX 4's sentencing story listed intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, using a communication facility to facilitate a drug felony, and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance. The April list and the FOX 4 list are not the same list. Forty, in the April announcement, and 39, in the FOX 4 sentencing story, are not the same age. The April announcement said sentencing was set for Aug. 12, 2026, before Judge Starr, and that he faced at least 20 years to life and a $10 million fine. FOX 4 reported the sentence was imposed Oct. 28. Aug. 12 and Oct. 28 are not the same day. A statutory exposure printed in April is not the term imposed in October.

The April announcement said Hewitt, a convicted felon, operated Zillionaire Exotic Pop at 3401 S. Malcolm X Blvd. in South Dallas, and that he sold methamphetamine, cocaine, and 200 to 300 pounds of marijuana a week, plus codeine mixed with soda that the announcement called purple drank. It said social media posts on an account linked to him, shown to the jury, included images of him and the caption "I am a drug lord," and that other posts advertised marijuana from the shop and promoted the Four Deuce Oakland Crip gang. The Morning News reported the same "I am a drug lord" caption from an April 10 announcement, and it said the storefront sold hundreds of pounds of marijuana weekly. FOX 4 called the storefront Exotic Pop South Dallas and said he sold cocaine, meth, codeine, prescription drugs, and marijuana marketed as Zillionaire Marijuana. Zillionaire Exotic Pop and Exotic Pop South Dallas are not the same name. Two hundred to 300 pounds a week and hundreds of pounds a week are not the same figure. FOX 4 did not print the caption or the street address. The April announcement and the Morning News said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives opened Operation Blue Laces in January 2024 after complaints from people living and working along the Malcolm X Boulevard corridor. FOX 4 said the operation launched in 2024. FOX 4 reported he is among at least 12 people linked to the Four-Deuce Oakland Crips convicted of federal offenses in the investigation. The Morning News called him a member of that gang. Four-Deuce, which FOX 4 and the Morning News printed, and Four Deuce, which the April announcement printed, are not the same spelling.

The Morning News reported that an Oct. 22, 2024, search of the storefront recovered about 1 kilogram of methamphetamine, marijuana, prescription pills, and multiple firearms, and that a search of his residence recovered an additional 14 pounds of marijuana, prescription pills, and ammunition. FOX 4 reported a kilogram of meth, large quantities of marijuana and pills, and multiple firearms at the store, and more drugs and ammunition at the home. It did not print 14 pounds or Oct. 22. The April announcement said agents recovered one kilogram of methamphetamine pills at the business, distribution quantities of marijuana marketed as Zillionaire Marijuana, and multiple firearms. Methamphetamine, which the Morning News printed, and methamphetamine pills, which the April announcement printed, are not the same description. The Morning News reported he was on felony probation in Kaufman and Tarrant counties and out on bond in Dallas County during the conspiracy, and that his criminal history includes convictions for drug trafficking, money laundering, firearms offenses, and assault. FOX 4 reported he was on probation and out on bond, and it listed money laundering, assault of a family member, and assault of a peace officer. FOX 4 printed additional priors that are not repeated here. The Morning News list and the priors repeated from FOX 4 are not the same list. Wednesday's 447 months is the sentence on the April jury verdict. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.