Washington D.C. Man Exiled to 13 Years in Prison On Gun and Drug Charges

Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Jeffrey Joseph McCoy, age 31, of Washington, D.C., today to 13 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and for being a felon in possession of a gun. A jury convicted McCoy on October 27, 2011.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Special Agent in Charge Debbie D. Bullockof the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief Philip O’Donnell of the Glenarden Police Department and Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to evidence presented at McCoy’s two day trial, on February 23, 2010, McCoy was the front seat passenger in a car that was stopped by Glenarden Police officers for a traffic violation. During the traffic stop, the officers discovered that the driver’s license was suspended and impounded the car. During an impound inventory search of the car, officers discovered five bags of marijuana in the console between the driver’s and passenger’s seats, and a marijuana grinder on the driver’s side floorboard. Police arrested the driver and instructed McCoy to place his hands on the trunk of the car. Witnesses testified that McCoy initially acted as if he were going to comply with the officer’s request, but instead fled across Martin Luther King Highway. As McCoy was running away, a black .40 caliber Hi-Point pistol fell from his waistband, along with a separate, fully loaded magazine. Police who were chasing McCoy recovered the firearm and magazine.

Officers caught and arrested McCoy, recovering seven baggies containing a total of .66 grams of heroin, a baggie containing 4.96 grams of crack cocaine, and $1,325 in cash, from McCoy’s person. During a subsequent search of the car police found a cooler in the backseat containing 19 additional bags of marijuana.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Glendarden Police Department and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in this investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorney Cheryl L. Crumpton and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Pulice, who prosecuted the case.