FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
SEPTEMBER 17, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Supplied Kilos of Cocaine to the Lester Fletcher Drug Organization
Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced William Tyrone Payton, age 33, of Camp Springs, Maryland, today to 292 months in prison, followed by eight years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, distribution of cocaine and use of a telephone to facilitate narcotics trafficking, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. A federal jury today convicted Payton on April 26, 2007.
According to trial testimony, Payton supplied approximately 4 kilos of cocaine to the Lester Fletcher drug organization in about April 2005. Payton was recorded in several conversations discussing cocaine trafficking during a wiretap of Lester Fletcher’s phone. In one of those telephone conversations, recorded on April 23, 2005, Payton and Fletcher discussed a kilo of poor quality cocaine that Payton had recently supplied to Fletcher, and Payton agreed to try to get Fletcher a replacement kilo for less money.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys David I. Salem and Jonathan C. Su, who prosecuted the case.