From the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore:
Reginald Leon Bolden, age 37, of Harford County, Maryland and Tremayne Gerrad Murphy, age 40, of Harford County, Maryland pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base.
The guilty pleas were announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Harford County State’s Attorney Albert J. Peisinger, Jr.; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; Sheriff Jeff Gahler of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office; and the Harford County Narcotics Task Force comprised of members of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Aberdeen Police Department, Bel Air Police Department, and Havre de Grace Police Department.
According to their guilty pleas, as a result of the Harford County Narcotics Task Force investigation into a drug trafficking organization (DTO) distributing powder and crack cocaine, Murphy, Bolden, and Joel Hammond were identified as DTO members. Law enforcement also observed numerous instances of drug-related activities.
For example, on February 24, 2020, investigators surveilled Bolden and Murphy as they traveled to Wilmington, Delaware to meet with a cocaine supplier. After completing the transaction for nine ounces of cocaine, Bolden and Murphy returned to Harford County to distribute the cocaine. Two days later, Murphy was observed traveling to a Wilmington, Delaware casino to return the cocaine to the original supplier as customers complained about the quality of the cocaine.
After meeting with the source, detectives followed Murphy back to Harford County where Murphy was observed conducting a hand-to-hand drug transaction.
As stated in their plea agreements, on March 15, 2020, Bolden was intercepted regarding the purchase of three ounces of crack cocaine from co-defendant Hammond. Bolden had arranged the transaction through a co-conspirator, who transported money to Hammond and received a small backpack from Hammond, which investigators believed contained the cocaine.
The co-conspirator, Murphy, and Bolden determined when Murphy could retrieve the cocaine. After the conversation, investigators observed the co-conspirator exit his residence with the same small backpack of suspected cocaine and briefly enter a vehicle operated by Murphy. Once the conspirator quickly exited Murphy’s vehicle without the backpack, Murphy subsequently traveled to Bolden’s residence.
After a brief period of time, Bolden was observed exiting Hammond’s residence and proceeded to return to Harford County. As Bolden returned to Harford County, members of the Harford County Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant on his vehicle where law enforcement seized 16 grams of powder cocaine, 41 grams of crack cocaine, and $660 in cash.
As a result of a search warrant executed at Bolden’s residence, law enforcement recovered 12 grams of crack cocaine, $2,785 in cash, numerous items of packaging material, and a digital scale containing cocaine residue.
As a member of the DTO, Bolden agrees that it is reasonably foreseeable that the amount of crack cocaine sold was at least 280 grams but less than 840 grams.
Murphy and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Murphy will be sentenced to between 60 months and 92 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for December 2, 2021 at 11 a.m.
Bolden and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Bolden will be sentenced to between eight years and nine years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for November 2, 2021 at 11 a.m.
Co-defendant Joel Hammond pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base on July 1, 2021. If the court accepts the plea agreement, Hammond will be sentenced to six years in federal prison. His sentencing is set for October 27, 2021 at 11 a.m.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the DEA, the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Harford County Narcotics Task Force, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Romano, who is prosecuting the case.
Those damn Irish and their drug distributing ways!
Maybe they were rogue Canadians…
The police simply do not have the manpower or resources and the Government does not have the facilities to deal with the thousands of dealers and users out there.
Maybe the approach is wrong. Move more resources to treatment. Remove the customer and the business goes away.
Treatment only works if someone wants help. Forced treatment does NOT work and will never work. The approach should probably be to de-criminalize everything and put in a regulatory scheme to control dosages and keep impurities, such as fentanyl, out of the end user product. Education, a proper education that gives the truth, not lies, will actually be the greatest deterrent of future addicts to hard core drugs. For years the government lied about marijuana. Marijuana is one of the most easily obtained substances in this country. When the government education claimed marijuana was harmful and addictive, everyone whom has used marijuana knew the government was full of it. When people find out they have been lied to, they wonder about everything else they have been told. Hence, more people try harmful substances that they should NEVER have tried. Furthermore, when you criminalize and ban something, a black market is formed and leads to mafia and gangs controlling the sales. Then you get your gang violence. The war on drugs was designed to harm Americans and was never a war on drugs. It was a war against the American people by those whom have pledged to NOT wage war on Americans. This is nothing but an example of the government manufacturing a supposed crime and manufacturing viable criminal organizations that have caused harm to Americans. It is time to end this war on drugs. If someone wants to put poison in their body then there is nothing you can do to prevent it and the policy should be abandoned. There is no commerce in a ban of anything, so the commerce clause does not apply. That which is necessary and proper can not be claimed because these clauses were only designed to allow the government to do that which it was ordained to do. Not to over reach into that which is forbidden. Legalize the whole damn list of CDS, let the people be people and if they end up addicted and want help, give it to them. Forced behavioral changes do NOT work and are not ordained to the government when there is no Common Law causation of harm. If you use drugs and steal to get them or buy drugs with money you were supposed to feed your kids with, then a crime has been committed. It’s not that hard to fix the supposed drug crisis, but those in government aren’t really interested in fixing anything, they want havoc and division.
I never said anything about forced treatment, I said move resources from enforcement to treatment. Go back to you child porn little boy.
Court ordered treatment is forced treatment. People usually don’t seek treatment themselves. Once again you’re NOT being realistic. Do you really think a Drug Addict is going to seek help because you or the Democratic “Not See” Party tells them to? You’re an idiot.
Don’t mind Colin, he’s the village idiot.
Those damn Irish and their drug distributing ways! fashioned and beautifully handmade Custom Entertainment Center Peoria AZ