Drug Dealing Brothers Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced brothers Harold Alexander Byrd, age 26, of Phoenix, Maryland, and Joseph Ibreham Byrd, age 34, of Owings Mills, Maryland, today each to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

The sentence 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; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Colonel Michael Kundrat, Chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.

According to the Byrds= plea agreements, search warrants executed on April 22, 2013, recovered over five kilograms of cocaine from each brother’s home, with a street value of approximately $150,000. Law enforcement recovered three handguns, one AK-47 (semi-automatic), and four sets of body armor from Harold Byrd’s residence. The brothers admitted they were co-conspirators and Joseph Byrd frequented his brother’s home and was aware that the firearms were stored there. Seventy-three black plastic containers used to conceal large quantities of marijuana during shipment from Arizona to Maryland were also recovered from Harold’s home. Both brothers also had fictitious drivers’ licenses in various names but bearing their photographs. On the same day, approximately 500 pounds of marijuana was seized from a third location in Baltimore, where both brothers were also arrested.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, Baltimore County Police Department and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys James G. Warwick and Kenneth S. Clark, who prosecuted the case.