Rayful Edmond III, a prominent drug kingpin in D.C. during the 1980s, died on Tuesday, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
According to the Washington Post, Edmond, 60, died unexpectedly in a halfway house in Florida.
Edmond, known as the “king of cocaine,” had a “army of dealers and a mountain of profits,” making him a major role in D.C.’s drug scene.
He was captured in April 1989 and condemned to life in jail, but after becoming an informant, he was expected to be released late next year, according to the Washington Post.
Justin Moore, Edmond’s attorney, described his death as “soul crushing news” in a post on X.
“My client Rayful Edmond just passed away unexpectedly at the age of 60,” Edmond stated in the post. “I just talked to him yesterday. I am absolutely floored by this news.”
The cause of his death is still unknown.