Five men have been indicted in connection with a cross-country drug trafficking operation and a plot to rob a California-based narcotics supplier, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced on July 28.
Tyler Michael “Dink” Watson, Akop Akop “Jack” Terzian, Nathan Andrew Jackson, Dominick Terrell Johnson, and Gary Bailey Jr. are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances as well as conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, along with Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin of Homeland Security Investigations – Maryland and Chief Amal E. Awad of the Anne Arundel County Police Department.
According to the indictment, from March 2023 through May 2025, the co-conspirators allegedly sought to unlawfully distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine. Prosecutors say that Watson, Jackson, Johnson, and Bailey traveled from Maryland to California multiple times to purchase controlled substances through Terzian, who would then ship narcotics back to Maryland for distribution.
In July 2024, prosecutors allege that Watson, Jackson, Johnson, and Bailey conspired with Terzian to steal narcotics from a known California supplier whom they had previously purchased drugs from and whose storage location they knew. The group reportedly traveled again from Maryland to California where they met Terzian and obtained a firearm for use in the planned robbery. On July 15 of that year, they allegedly held the supplier at gunpoint and robbed him of approximately 11 kilograms of cocaine as well as marijuana and U.S. currency.
The office stated: “An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding.” If convicted on all charges related to drug distribution conspiracy alone, each defendant faces between ten years and life in federal prison; an additional conviction for conspiracy related to interference with commerce by robbery could result in up to twenty more years imprisonment.
Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge after consideration of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors if any defendants are found guilty at trial or enter pleas.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland employs over 200 personnel across its civil, criminal and administrative divisions; it prosecutes federal crimes including those described above while also handling civil cases on behalf of the United States government for nearly six million residents across Maryland, according to the official website.