Mailing Cocaine: Locals And Postal Workers Plead Guilty, DOJ Says

Bowie MD

09 August, 2021

12:47 PM

Description

BOWIE, MD — Officials said a cocaine mail scheme intertwined residents and postal workers from Maryland as well as Washington, D.C. The suspects all face potential prison time, an incident report noted. Authorities added that on Aug. 2 a judge sentenced the accused trafficking leader, 40-year-old Russell Stanley III of Bowie, to 11 years in federal prison. Stanley will then serve five years of supervised release, the write-up mentioned. The press release indicated Stanley pleaded guilty to: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaineConspiracy to commit an offense against the United StatesBribery of a government official Prosecutors alleged Stanley paid two U.S. Postal Service workers to divert packages of cocaine to his home or the residences of his co-conspirators in 2018 and 2019. The U.S. Department of Justice identified the accused letter carriers as 34-year-old Maurice Vaughn of the District of Columbia and 35-year-old Zakiyya Holloman of Middle River. Both serviced routes in Bowie, officials reported. The DOJ explained Vaughn and Holloman each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and to bribery. The postal workers face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy charge and up to 15 years on the bribery accusation, the press release said. The prosecution detailed Bowie residents Jovan Kirk Louis Savage, 35, and Delonte Andre Gomez, a 39-year-old known as Turk, also pleaded guilty to involvement. The report shared Savage could spend life in prison, and Gomez will get 5.5 years if the court accepts his plea agreement. Actual sentences tend to be less than maximums, however. Officials wrote that the judge has not yet scheduled sentencing dates for Savage, Vaughn and Holloman. Gomez's sentencing is slated for Sept. 22, the DOJ announced. The write-up divulged that another Bowie resident, 37-year-old Barrington Albert Edwards Jr., is also charged in the case. Edwards has not yet gone to trial, law enforcement clarified. "This drug trafficking organization not only polluted our communities with dangerous narcotics, it also corrupted postal carriers who facilitated the organization's illegal business," stated Acting United States Attorney Jonathan Lenzner. "We are committed to targeting those who supply and distribute illegal narcotics in Maryland and as well as those government employees who knowingly assist drug dealers." To learn how authorities uncovered the case, read the full release from the DOJ. Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. Download our mobile application from the App Store or Google Play. Have a story idea? Please contact me at [email protected] with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.