A Havre de Grace man has been sentenced to more than a dozen years in federal prison for his role in a cocaine distribution ring operating in Harford County that police busted in 2014.
U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Mardell Abrams, 35, on Tuesday to 150 months, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Abrams was also ordered to forfeit $225,460 seized during the investigation.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to Abrams' plea agreement, as part of an investigation into cocaine trafficking, the Harford County Task Force intercepted cellular telephone calls and text messages from members of a drug trafficking organization operating in Harford County.
Based on the intercepted calls and texts, Abrams was identified as a member of the organization which, according to court documents and findings by Judge Russell at Tuesday's hearing, distributed significant amounts of cocaine and heroin, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.
According to the statement of facts entered with Abrams' guilty plea last November, in Aug. 26, 2014, police investigators intercepted a series of text messages between Abrams and co-conspirator Eric Maurice Clanton, in which they discussed arranging for a re-supply of cocaine from Philadelphia and using a courier for the organization to make the trip. Abrams and Clanton also discussed via text which source of supply to use.
Investigators determined that Abrams not only financed the purchase of multiple kilograms of cocaine, but also arranged to lease rental vehicles which were used by couriers to transport cocaine from the Philadelphia area to Maryland, according to the statement of facts.
On Oct. 6, 2014, "through intercepted communications," it was learned that Clanton and a courier were again traveling to Philadelphia to meet the same source of supply, in a vehicle leased by Abrams. A "traffic stop was instituted on the vehicle" on its return to Maryland and a search of the vehicle recovered approximately 1.25 kilograms of cocaine, according to the statement of facts.
"Surveillance observed Abrams on multiple occasions" travel to storage locker in Harford County. A subsequent search of the storage locker recovered approximately $220,000 in cash, which had been heat-sealed and labeled with numbers, and a kilogram press, according to the statement of facts.
During his participation in the conspiracy, Abrams admitted that he was responsible for the distribution of at least five kilograms of cocaine, prosecutors said.
In addition to the money seized at the storage locker, Abrams was ordered to forfeit money from Harco Credit Union Bank accounts totaling approximately $4,300, court records show.
Eric Maurice Clanton, 36, of Edgewood, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the drug distribution conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on June 27.
Donald Lee Cox, 42, of Aberdeen, and Travius Edwin Gregory, 30, of Edgewood, have also pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and were sentenced to two years and five years in federal prison, respectively, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release. According to court documents, the four were the only ones charged to date in the drug distribution conspiracy.
Rosenstein praised DEA and the Harford County Task Force, comprised of members of the Harford County Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police, Aberdeen Police Department, Bel Air Police Department, Havre de Grace Police Department and the Harford County States Attorney's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Romano prosecuted what has been described by the federal government as an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.