Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents went to a home on Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe on Jan. 23, 2023, in response to a call about a man who may have overdosed. The victim, an active-duty Marine, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. (NCIS/Facebook)
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(Tribune News Service) — A 25-year-old Waikiki man in federal custody for allegedly selling a fatal dose of cocaine to a Kaneohe Marine reportedly received more than $20,000 in loans from a COVID-19 relief program for what he claimed was his taxi business.
Rayshaun Emilio “Nova “ Ducos was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and a firearm offense. He pleaded not guilty to both charges Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom A. Trader. His trial is set for April 11.
Ducos was allegedly found in possession of two “ghost guns“ when federal agents searched his Waikiki apartment Jan. 30. A 9 mm handgun and a 5.56 mm AR-15-style handgun, neither with manufacturer markings, were found “in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime,“ according to the indictment.
The government is seeking forfeiture of the firearms and $30,829 in cash seized from Ducos’ apartment.
According to a search of ProPublica’s Paycheck Protection Program loan database, Ducos used a sole proprietorship, which he represented in a federal loan application as a “taxi business “ in Honolulu, to obtain $20, 416 in PPP funding on April 28, 2021. His business supposedly existed for more than two years prior to receiving the federal aid.
Information on Ducos’ loan status is not available on the database.
A check with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Business Registration Division failed to turn up any record of Ducos serving as a business agent for a sole proprietorship in Honolulu.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Ayabe, who is prosecuting his drug and firearm case for the government, and Assistant Federal Public Defender Craig Jerome did not immediately reply to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser request for comment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not respond to questions about whether Ducos’ loan application is the subject of federal scrutiny or connected to his alleged cocaine distribution operation.
On Jan. 23, Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents responded to a report of an overdose at a home on Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe. They found Cpl. Adell Anderson, of the 3rd Marine Division, who was taken to the Adventist Health Castle hospital in Kailua, where he was pronounced dead, according to federal court records.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and NCIS are investigating Ducos and other “identified and unidentified subjects, regarding the distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and other controlled substances, and conspiracy, “ according to the court complaint.
A witness told NCIS agents that Anderson knew Ducos from previous drug transactions.
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