A federal jury in Baltimore convicted Wayne Lee, 36, on June 1 for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the verdict along with Special Agent in Charge Charles Doerrer from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Commissioner Richard Worley from the Baltimore Police Department.
According to evidence presented at trial, on July 10, 2023, a Baltimore Police Department detective observed Lee leaving a convenience store on North Howard Street via CitiWatch camera surveillance. An unknown man approached Lee outside the store and conducted what appeared to be a hand-to-hand drug transaction involving drugs exchanged for money. Law enforcement arrested Lee after the transaction and recovered six orange-top vials containing cocaine base from his right hand. Officers also found a loaded firearm with six rounds in his waistband. Additional items recovered included nine more orange-topped vials of cocaine base, eight extra rounds of ammunition, approximately eight grams of loose cocaine base in a clear bag, and $937 cash. Authorities said Lee possessed these drugs with intent to distribute them and had the firearm during this activity; he was also prohibited from possessing firearms due to an earlier felony conviction.
Lee faces up to 15 years in prison for possessing a firearm as a prohibited person; up to 20 years for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; and between five years to life imprisonment—consecutive to other sentences—for possessing a firearm during drug trafficking crimes. Actual sentences are typically less than statutory maximums, as determined by federal district judges considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which coordinates law enforcement agencies at all levels with community organizations aiming to reduce violent crime and gun violence through strategic enforcement priorities set out by the Department’s violent crime reduction strategy launched May 26, 2021.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland prosecutes federal crimes—including those related to firearms—and handles civil cases on behalf of nearly six million residents across Maryland while employing over 200 personnel across its divisions, according to its official website.