Federal authorities arrested seven individuals on charges related to an alleged drug trafficking operation based in Washington, D.C. The arrests followed the execution of approximately 20 search warrants across the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Los Angeles after a year-long investigation.
According to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, law enforcement seized 18 firearms, including an AR-style rifle, a shotgun, and a Draco-style pistol. Authorities also confiscated a pill press believed to be used for manufacturing fentanyl pills, at least two kilograms of suspected narcotics, and over $50,000 in cash.
Last week, eight people were indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in connection with this case. Those charged include two individuals from California, one from Baltimore, and five from the metropolitan Washington D.C. area.
The FBI partnered with the DEA and Metropolitan Police Department to take seven of those indicted into custody: Leonard Edwards (52), Eric “Marbury” Prather (43), Thomas Wilton Hancock Jr., aka “Fresh” (43), Sarda Smith (36), Michael Thomas (49), Reginald Lassiter (39), and Darryl Riley (39). One defendant remains at large and is considered a fugitive; their indictment remains sealed.
FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Phil Bates joined DEA Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis and MPD Chief Pamela A. Smith in announcing these actions.
“The Knox Place neighborhood has experienced at least five homicides in the past year, among other violent crimes,” according to officials. The group allegedly operated around Knox Place SE in D.C., sourcing narcotics through a Baltimore-based co-conspirator who imported drugs from California. Law enforcement intercepted one shipment that included 17 gallons of PCP outside Topeka, Kansas earlier this year.
Six defendants face mandatory minimum sentences of ten years due to drug quantity charges; two others face mandatory minimums of fifteen years.
In addition to these arrests, federal agents detained five more individuals facing charges such as conspiracy to distribute narcotics, felon in possession of firearms, possession of a firearm during drug trafficking crimes, and illegal re-entry into the United States.
The FBI Washington Field Office led the investigation with assistance from the DEA and MPD. Prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sitara Witanachchi, Matthew W. Kinskey, and John Parron from the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
###
