Baltimore, Maryland – Thamar Smith, age 48, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Washington Division; and Sheriff Douglas Mullendore of the Washington County Narcotics Task Force.
According to his guilty plea, on March 18, 2019, law enforcement received an anonymous tip from a Hagerstown, Maryland storage facility customer reporting that an individual driving a large SUV and a storage unit conducted a suspected drug deal at the facility. Law enforcement determined that the reported vehicle was registered to Smith and that the unit had been rented to Smith under a fraudulent New York State driver’s license that bore Smith’s photograph and the alias “Michael Silver”.
From March 20 to April 24, 2019, law enforcement surveilled activity at the suspected unit on a daily basis and observed Smith opening the storage unit to weigh and process suspected narcotics for distribution. Smith accessed the storage unit on 39 separate occasions and obtained at least 250 grams of narcotics during his visits.
Through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Smith supplied narcotics to Tyler and Eddie Ware, Hagerstown, Maryland heroin and fentanyl drug dealers. On at least 30 separate occasions between April 8 and May 8, 2019, Smith visited Tyler Ware’s residence. Additionally, in Through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Smith supplied narcotics to Tyler and Eddie Ware, who were Hagerstown, Maryland heroin and fentanyl drug dealers. On at least 30 separate occasions between April 8 and May 8, 2019, Smith visited Tyler Ware’s residence. Additionally, in less than one month, Smith and Tyler contacted each other 714 times by cell phone.
As stated in his plea agreement, on August 9, 2019, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Smith’s Hagerstown, Maryland residence. During the execution of the search warrant, Smith informed law enforcement that he had a storage unit in Hagerstown, Maryland and told officers where he kept the keys to the unit.
As a result of the executed search warrant at Smith’s storage unit, law enforcement located 15.4 grams of heroin, 8.9 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and heroin, digital scales with suspected heroin residue, numerous small plastic baggies, and a glass jar containing a suspected cutting agent.
Tyler and Eddie Ware pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl on October 28, 2020, and January 11, 2021; respectively.
Smith and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Smith will be sentenced to 92 months in federal prison followed by 4 years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for October 7, 2022, at 9:30 a.m.
This case is 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 DEA and the Washington County Narcotics Task Force for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina A. Hoffman and Joan Mathias, 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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