FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
January 9, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DRUG DEALER EXILED TO OVER 15 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR DISTRIBUTING MORE THAN 3.5 KILOGRAMS OF COCAINE
Co-Defendant Also pleads Guilty - Faces at Least 20 Years for
Distributing 150 Kilograms of Cocaine
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Otis Rich, age 34, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 188 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
“Otis Rich was a very violent individual with an extensive criminal record. Many long hours of work by the DEA and Baltimore City Police Department led to his arrest and made Baltimore a safer place,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski.
According to his guilty plea, from March 2006 through August 2008, Rich and several co-defendants distributed more than 3.5 but less than 5 kilograms of cocaine to customers in the Baltimore area.
Co-defendant Devon Marshall, age 37, of Abingdon, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to the same charge. According to his plea agreement Marshall and his co-conspirators obtained cocaine from suppliers in Mexico and distributed more than 150 kilograms of cocaine to customers in the Baltimore area. Marshall and his co-conspirators then sent the proceeds of these drug transactions back to their suppliers in Mexico.
Marshall faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, followed by a mandatory minimum term of supervised release of ten years. U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. has scheduled sentencing for April 3, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy and Assistant State’s Attorney Antonio Gioia, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Baltimore City Police Department for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Jason M. Weinstein and George J. Hazel, who are prosecuting the case.