Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging four men with federal charges related to the distribution of methamphetamine sent through the U.S. mail to a mail carrier who allegedly accepted bribes to re-route the packages to drug conspirators. Charged in the indictment are:
Robert DuBois Miller III, age 30, of Bowie, Maryland;
Isaiah David Hamilton, age 24, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland;
Raynard Jordan Johnson, age 24, of Upper Marlboro; and
Walter Ellis Minor III, age 30, of Lanham, Maryland.
The indictment was returned on June 23, 2021, and unsealed today upon the arrest of the defendants.
The indictment was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Washington Division; Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel A. Adame of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Malik Azziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to the eight-count indictment, between August 2019 and February 2020, Miller, Hamilton, and Johnson were part of a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that between October 2019 and January 2020, Miller mailed packages containing methamphetamine from post offices in Los Angeles, California, to addresses in Bowie and Lanham, Maryland, that were on the routes assigned to Minor, a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier.
Specifically, the indictment alleges that Miller addressed the packages in the names of various individuals to addresses on postal routes assigned to Minor. Once the packages were mailed, Miller allegedly provided Minor the number of packages containing methamphetamine and the tracking numbers, so Minor would know how many packages he should expect to re-route. When the packages arrived in Maryland, Minor allegedly contacted Miller with a location where Miller or his associates could pick up the packages. These locations were not the addresses listed on the packages. As detailed in the indictment, if Minor was not able to obtain the package for delivery he would inform Miller, who would then dispatch an associate to wait at the location where the package was set to be delivered, in order to steal the package.
The indictment alleges that Miller paid Minor in exchange for Minor redirecting packages from the address listed on the package to members of the conspiracy. The indictment alleges that on March 9, 2019, October 30, 2019 and November 27, 2019, Miller provided payment to Minor in exchange for Minor diverting packages containing methamphetamine to Miller or other conspirators. For example, the indictment alleges that on October 29, 2019 and November 25, 2019, Miller sent a package containing methamphetamine to an address in Maryland on Minor’s postal route and Minor subsequently redirected the packages from the address listed on each package to a member of the conspiracy. Miller allegedly then paid Minor $240 and $300, respectively.
If convicted, Miller, Hamilton and Johnson each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison for their roles in the conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Miller and Minor each face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Miller also faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison for each of three counts charging him with giving bribes to a public official and Minor faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison for each of three counts of acceptance of bribes by a public official. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The defendants will all have an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.
This case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the DEA, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the ATF, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rajeev R. Raghavan and Erin B. Pulice, who are prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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