The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department (“PGPD”).
Greenbelt, Maryland – Garrison Thomas, age 41, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Thomas was apprehended and arrested. In the car, law enforcement located a magazine loaded with 10 rounds of 9mm ammunition in the vehicle and a digital scale with suspected cocaine residue. A search of Thomas recovered approximately $328 in cash, approximately 1.138 grams of para-fluorofentanyl; an open plastic bag corner containing approximately 4.840 grams of crack cocaine; two knotted plastic bag corners containing approximately 2.906 grams of powder cocaine, and approximately .545 grams of loose powder and crack cocaine.
According to his guilty plea, on December 27, 2022, Thomas was the passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by PGPD officers for having expired Virginia registration tags. As officers approached the vehicle, they detected the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle and asked the driver and Thomas to exit the vehicle. Thomas was asked to put his hands on top of the car and as an officer attempted to pat him down a struggle ensued. During the struggle, Thomas shed his coat and ran from the scene, followed by PGPD officers. Another office picked up Thomas’ coat and recovered a 9mm pistol loaded with approximately 12 rounds of 9mm ammunition from the coat.
Thomas faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for July 19, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.
Thomas admitted that the firearm, ammunition, magazine and cash constituted proceeds of his drug trafficking activity, or were used or intended to be used, to facilitate Thomas’s drug offense. Further, Thomas knew that he had been convicted of a felony and was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF and PGPD for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dawn M. Ellison and Kelly O. Hayes, who are prosecuting the case.
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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
# # #
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-psn and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.