Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr., sentenced Barry Thomas, age 51, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 235 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Judge Quarles enhanced Thomas’ sentence upon finding that he is a career offender based on two previous drug trafficking convictions.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Brisolari of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to Thomas’ plea agreement, in November 2009, Thomas supplied heroin and cocaine to co-defendant LaKeisha Holloway. Co-defendant Darryl Chase assisted Thomas. For example, on November 6, 2009, Holloway called Thomas and arranged to obtain heroin and cocaine from Thomas and Chase. Thomas and Holloway again spoke by phone later in the day to finalize the order and make arrangements to meet in Baltimore the next day.
On November 7, 2009, Thomas’ vehicle was stopped by law enforcement in the 700 block of North Longwood Street in Baltimore, near the location at which Holloway and Thomas had agreed to meet. The car was being driven by Thomas and Darryl Chase was in the front passenger seat. A search of the Toyota Avalon recovered two bags of heroin and one bag of cocaine in the center console, with a 9mm handgun found directly next to the bags of drugs. A subsequent lab analysis confirmed that two bags contained a total of 44.73 grams of heroin, and the third bag contained 7.42 grams of cocaine.
LaKeisha Holloway, age 32, and Darryl Chase, age 53, both of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug trafficking scheme and were sentenced to 12 years in prison and 37 months in prison, respectively.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Ayn B. Ducao, who prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
