Baltimore, Maryland – Tommie Miller, age 36, of Jessup, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Gregory Der of the Howard County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, on March 2, 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant at Miller’s apartment. Miller and his girlfriend were the only occupants of the apartment at the time of the search. From a backpack found the main bedroom, agents seized a pistol loaded with 34 rounds of ammunition; an AR-style pistol with an obliterated serial number and three magazines containing 93 rounds of ammunition; 14 additional rounds of ammunition; one bag of cocaine; 25 gel capsules; and four bags of heroin. Also from the bedroom, agents recovered $3,000 from a box on the floor; a lower receiver for a handgun from the attached bathroom; and a bag containing empty gel capsules from a closet near the main bedroom. A search of the kitchen revealed an AR-style magazine with 25 rounds; a digital scale; a bag of cocaine; and drug paraphernalia.
Miller admitted that the drugs, the manner in which they were packaged, the presence of drug paraphernalia, and the amount of cash indicate his intent to distribute the drugs and that the firearms were possessed in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime.
Miller faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of life in prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher has scheduled sentencing for July 5, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN, an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime, is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case is also part of 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.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Howard County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Y. Oldham, who is 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 https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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