FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
APRIL 30, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BALTIMORE CRACK DEALER SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis sentenced James Turner, age 33, of Baltimore today to 15 years in prison followed by eight years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to the statement of facts presented at Turner’s guilty plea, the Baltimore Police Department’s Organized Crime Division initiated a narcotics investigation of James Turner resulting in a search warrant being obtained for Turner’s gold Nissan Altima. On February 8, 2006, officers surrounded the vehicle, located in the 300 block of McMechen Street in Baltimore, and instructed Turner to get out of the car. A K-9 dog searched the vehicle for drugs and alerted at the rear passenger seat. Officers recovered a clear plastic bag containing two more clear plastic bags with crack cocaine from under the back seat. Officers also recovered a loaded Bersa Thunder .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol in the center console below the stereo; the vehicle registration from the glove box, which revealed that the vehicle was registered to Turner; and an additional clear plastic bag containing four more clear plastic bags with crack cocaine from underneath the back seat of the vehicle. A total of 34.08 grams of crack cocaine was recovered from Turner’s car.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Baltimore Police Department Organized Crime Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and commended Special Assistant United States Attorney James Francomano, who prosecuted the case.