Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Jeffrey Anderson, age 36, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, today to 11 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck" Jenkins; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore; and Hagerstown Police Chief Mark Holtzman.
“This investigation, initiated by the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), was a cooperative effort between the FCSO, HSI and our law enforcement partners," said Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. “As a result of the cooperative efforts of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, a large scale, multi-jurisdictional heroin trafficking organization was dismantled."
According to his plea agreement, beginning as early as September 2013, Anderson and co-conspirator Reginald Jones worked with Rahdel Sharbaan to obtain bulk quantities of heroin from sources in New York and transport that heroin to Maryland for further distribution. Anderson would either travel to New York himself, or have Sharbaan and Jones bring the heroin and cutting agent to him in Maryland via commercial bus. With co-defendant Shawn Malley’s assistance, Anderson used stash locations to store and cut the heroin, including a storage unit in Gambrills, Maryland, and Malley’s home. Once diluted, Anderson sold the heroin in bulk to several Maryland-based dealers, including co-defendants William Robinson and Gary Barham on the Eastern shore of Maryland, and Amanda Jo Palmer in Western Maryland. According to their plea agreements, once Robinson, Palmer and Barham obtained drugs from Anderson they re-distributed the drugs in street-level quantities. Jones used the drug proceeds from Anderson to pay the source in New York.
On May 15, 2014, investigators executed search warrants, seizing: 40.1 grams of heroin, cutting agents, packaging materials and paraphernalia from the storage unit; 49 grams of heroin from Anderson’s vehicle; $2,957 in cash, drugs, multiple cell phones and digital scales from Malley’s home; and four vehicles from other co-conspirators.
Anderson admitted that during the time of the conspiracy at least one kilogram of heroin was distributed.
Six co-defendants pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy and have been sentenced. Gary Barham, age 52, of Easton, Maryland, was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Co-defendants William Ulysses Robinson, age 39, of Grasonville, Maryland, was sentenced to six years in prison; Shawn Christopher Malley, age 25, of Crofton, Maryland, was sentenced to five years in prison; and Amanda Jo Palmer, age 33, of Hagerstown, Maryland, was sentenced to 29 months in prison. Finally, Rahdel Sharbaan, age 32, and Reginald Jones, age 26, both of Bronx, New York, were sentenced to two years in prison, and a year and day in prison, respectively.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised HSI-Baltimore, DEA, Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Hagerstown Police Department for their work in the investigation and recognized the Maryland Natural Resources Police, St. Michael’s Police Department, Easton Police Department, Ocean City Police Department and Talbot County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth S. Clark, who is prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
