Pasadena Man Convicted Of Illegally Warning Targets Of DEA Wiretaps

Baltimore, Maryland – Joshua Ferguson, age 34, of Pasadena, Maryland pleaded guilty today to unlawfully providing notice of electronic surveillance.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; and Anne Arundel County Police Chief Kevin Davis.

According to his plea agreement, in June of 2013, pursuant to a court authorized wiretap, the DEA and Anne Arundel County Police Department were monitoring the cell phone of a suspected drug trafficker, Paul Cain. On June 27, 2013, law enforcement overheard a call from Ferguson who warned Cain of three phone taps in Pasadena for drugs. Ferguson also told Cain to warn another suspected drug dealer, Daryell Rexrode, about the phone taps. Shortly thereafter, Cain and Rexrode stopped using their cell phones.

Further investigation revealed that Ferguson learned of the phone taps through Sarah Harris who worked at the Clerk’s Office in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. Ferguson had met with Harris at a bar on June 26, 2013. Harris told Ferguson that there were phone taps in Pasadena for drugs, which were not local. Ferguson understood this to mean that federal law enforcement officers were conducting the phone taps.

Ferguson faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III scheduled sentencing for June 27, 2014.

Sarah Elizabeth Harris, age 23, of Pasadena, Maryland, pleaded guilty in February 2014 to obstruction of an official proceeding and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison at her sentencing scheduled on May 9, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. Paul Rodney Cain, age 48, and Daryell Mitchell Rexrode, age 56, both of Pasadena, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in drug trafficking activities. Rexrode was sentenced on March 8, 2014 to 160 months in prison. Cain awaits sentencing.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the DEA and Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter J. Martinez, who is prosecuting the case.