NOTTINGHAM, MD—An associate of drug trafficking organizations that operated in East Baltimore was sentenced to nine years in federal prison and two others pleaded guilty to federal drug distribution charges.

Egan Davis, 40, of Nottingham, pleaded guilty on Thursday and co-defendant Amin Boyd, 42, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty on September 8, 2020, to federal drug distribution charges related to their participation in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and/or fentanyl in the Monument Street area of East Baltimore. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced co-defendant, Andre Lemon, 40, of Baltimore, on Wednesday to nine years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in the conspiracy.

The guilty pleas and sentence were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

“The Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force is a critical part of our strategy to make Baltimore safer by identifying and focusing on those groups responsible for the most violent crime in our city,” said Hur. “The Monument Street area is one of the first areas the Strike Force has targeted and we anticipate that Strike Force cases will make these neighborhoods safer for the law-abiding citizens that live there.”

According to their guilty pleas, in July of 2018, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Strike Force Group 1 began an investigation of the Monument Street corridor in East Baltimore, which is known to support a high volume of street-level drug distribution and acts of violence associated with the drug trafficking. During the investigation, law enforcement identified multiple street-level drug trafficking “shops,” with the two most prominent located in the 400 block of North Montford Avenue at Jefferson Street (“the Montford DTO”) and in the 2400 block of East Monument Street at Port Street (the “Out the Mud,” or “OTM DTO”).

As detailed in their plea agreements, Davis supplied drugs to the Montford and OTM drug trafficking organizations, among others; Boyd was a wholesale drug customer of members of the conspiracy; and identified Lemon as an associate of a source of supply also charged in the conspiracy. Law enforcement overheard the defendants discussing the distribution of drugs, including powder and crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl, among others.

Law enforcement executed search warrants at residences associated with Davis and Lemon in January and May 2019, respectively, recovering over two kilograms of cocaine; drug paraphernalia, including digital scales, and packaging materials; more than $51,300 in cash, believed to be drug proceeds; and a fully loaded .410 caliber “the Judge” handgun, along with additional .410 caliber ammunition, which Lemon admitted he possessed in connection to his drug trafficking activities. Lemon is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition as a result of a previous felony conviction.

Throughout the course of their involvement, it was reasonably foreseeable to Davis and Lemon, and within the scope of the conspiracy that they or other members of the conspiracy would distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, as well as quantities of cocaine base, heroin, and fentanyl during the course of and in furtherance of the conspiracy. It was reasonably foreseeable to Boyd, and within the scope of the conspiracy that he or other members of the conspiracy would distribute at least 500 grams but less than two kilograms of cocaine, as well as quantities of cocaine base, heroin and fentanyl during the course of and in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Davis, Boyd and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts their plea agreements, Davis and Boyd will be sentenced to 10 years and seven years in federal prison, respectively. Judge Hollander has scheduled sentencing for Davis and Boyd on December 8, 2020.

Of the 25 defendants indicted in this case, eleven—including Lemon, Davis, and Boyd—have pleaded guilty. The remaining defendants have trial dates in January or May 2021.