Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 53 Months for Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Marijuana

WASHINGTON -- Patrick Thomas, 39, of Hyattsville, Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 53 months in connection with a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. 

Thomas, aka Nick Cannon, pleaded guilty on Feb. 19, 2026, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and marijuana. In addition to the 53-month prison term, U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ordered Thomas to serve three years of supervised release. Federal prosecutors had requested a prison term of 64 months. 

According to court papers, beginning at least in October 2023 and continuing through May 2024, Thomas and his co-conspirators traveled multiple times between the Baltimore-Washington area and Los Angeles to obtain large amounts of marijuana for distribution. On one such trip in February 2024, agents intercepted Thomas and his associates at BWI Airport upon their return from Los Angeles and found 54.5 pounds of cannabis packed in vacuum-sealed bags inside a suitcase carried by one of Thomas’s co-conspirators. 

Thomas and his co-conspirators sold the marijuana from an apartment in the 1900 block of C Street SE, jointly contributing to the rent. Agents observed daily hand-to-hand drug transactions outside the building. 

On Oct. 30, 2024, law enforcement executed search warrants at the C Street SE apartment and at Thomas’s residence in Maryland. At the apartment, agents recovered about six pounds of marijuana, additional narcotics, and numerous small distribution-size packages of marijuana, along with firearms and fentanyl. At Thomas’s Maryland residence, agents found $7,036 in cash and three firearms with ammunition. A search of Thomas’s cell phone revealed a photograph of a large bag of suspected fentanyl pills, which Thomas acknowledged weighed about 20 grams. 

Two of Thomas’ co-defendants have been adjudicated in the conspiracy on similar charges. Dnorris Goins, aka “Wizard,” was sentenced April 10 to five years in prison; Ricardo Anton Koonce, aka “Kingphew,” was sentenced June 3 to two years. A third co-defendant, Robert Spriggs, is scheduled for sentencing on June 18.  

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division Office and the FBI Washington Field Office. 

The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Isabelle Sun. 

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