Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Dwayne Purdie Jr., age 28, of Baltimore, Maryland to 57 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD).
According to his plea agreement, on Nov. 14, 2019, Baltimore Police Department officers saw a male suspect and Purdie conduct a suspected drug transaction in a Baltimore alley way. After Purdie began to leave the alley, he noticed the police officers, and quickly returned to the alley.
Believing that they had just interrupted a drug transaction, the BPD officers drove into the alley to investigate. Purdie then fled on his bicycle and threw a clear bag that appeared to contain small objects consistent with street-level packaged drugs.
Eventually, Purdie abandoned his bicycle and fled on foot, and hid behind a truck. When a BPD officer located Purdie, he was in the motion of reaching for his right leg. Upon his apprehension, a BPD officer found a loaded 9mm semi-automatic firearm, a total of 13 rounds of ammunition, and two vials of cocaine under Purdie’s right pant leg.
After canvasing the area where Purdie threw the bag while riding his bicycle, an officer found a clear bag containing a total of 51 vials and gel caps of cocaine and 31 of the gel caps also contained a fentanyl mixture. The two vials recovered from Purdie also contained cocaine. The amount and packaging of the drugs suggest that they were intended for distribution rather than personal use.
Prior to possessing the firearm, Purdie had a felony conviction and as a result, knew that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner praised the ATF and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James C. Tuomey and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon K. Moore, who prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
