All 12 Members of Annapolis Drug Ring Sentenced: Top Term 78 Months After Federal Wiretaps
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced that a federal judge has handed down the last of 12 sentences in the takedown of a drug-trafficking organization operating on and around Clay Street in Annapolis. Sentences ranged from four months to 78 months in prison. U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced the sentences with Jimmy Paul, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Baltimore Field Office, and Anne Colt Leitess, State's Attorney for Anne Arundel County.
U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox imposed the sentences. The longest went to Demarco Watkins, 46, of Baltimore, who received 78 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Larry Adams, 42, of Annapolis, received 70 months for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person, and Curtis Johnson, 45, of Glen Burnie, received 66 months. The remaining defendants — Sheldon Wells, Olando Thompson, Abdallah Simms, Juan Lamont Johnson, Rodrick Simms, Tijee Benett, Wayne Thompson Jr, Aureon Johnson and Keo Williams — received terms from 63 months down to four months, most followed by three to five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, investigators used subpoenas, search warrants, pen registers, toll data, pole camera footage, physical surveillance, confidential sources, undercover officers and controlled buys. From June 2024 into October 2024, investigators held court authorization for a federal wiretap on four cellphones, intercepting numerous conversations in which the co-conspirators discussed and coordinated drug sales, including a meeting at an Annapolis auto store to complete a transaction. The wiretap also allowed coordinated traffic stops and search warrants after drug transactions.
The prosecution was led by FBI Baltimore's Chesapeake Bay Safe Streets Task Force under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) framework, with assistance from the Annapolis Police Department, the Anne Arundel County Police Department and other agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan S. Tsuei and LaRai Everett prosecuted the case. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland)
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片来源：美国联邦调查局总部大楼（GSM固定图库） / Image: FBI headquarters (GSM asset library)
