Four Maryland men have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 86 months to 20 years after admitting to distributing large amounts of powder and crack cocaine in St. Mary’s County. A 42-year-old California man and a 42-year-old Lexington Park man were sentenced to 11 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. A 32-year-old Great Mills man was sentenced to 86 months of incarceration followed by supervised release lasting for three years. A 44-year-old Waldorf resident, who is said to have supplied the drugs, entered into a plea agreement that calls for 20 years of imprisonment.
The investigation, which involved the Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and the Prince George’s County Police Department, uncovered valuable evidence when the homes of the California, Lexington and Great Mills men were searched in December 2016. Several firearms including a handgun and a shotgun were found in the California home according to reports, and the search in Great Mills yielded significant amounts of drugs, cash and drug paraphernalia.
According to court documents, the group admitted in their plea agreements to distributing several kilograms of cocaine in St. Mary’s County and nearby areas between February 2015 and December 2016. The Lexington man says that he obtained the drugs from the Great Mills man and then split them with the California man. The California man admitted that he sometimes cooked the powder cocaine to make crack cocaine.
Many cases involving serious drug charges are resolved with plea agreements. Experienced criminal defense attorneys may encourage their clients to consider a plea when the evidence against them is compelling. When several defendants are involved, attorneys may encourage their clients to act quickly as prosecutors generally make their most generous offers to those who cooperate first.
Source: The Bay Net, “St. Mary’s drug leaders get 11 years in prison”, U.S. Department of Justice, Sept. 10, 2018
Source: The Southern Maryland News, “St. Mary’s men sentenced on federal drug crimes”, John Wharton, Sept. 7, 2018