Five Men Sentenced on Federal Charges Following Investigation of Drug Sales in Southwest Washington

            WASHINGTON –Five people, all from Washington, D.C., have been sentenced this week following guilty pleas to federal charges following an investigation into the trafficking of PCP, crack cocaine and heroin in Southwest Washington.

            The sentences, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, were announced by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Thomas L. Chittum III, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            The sentences followed an investigation by ATF and MPD targeting the area near the King Greenleaf Recreation Center, in the 200 block of N Street SW. The investigation began in early 2017 after authorities noticed an increase in drug sales and violent activity in the area, which is in MPD’s First Police District. According to the government’s evidence, in addition to the area near the recreation center, drug sales took place in various alleys and corners, including near a church in the 1300 block of First Street SW, near a food market in the 1300 block of Half Street SW, and near a convenience store in the 1100 block of South Capitol Street SW.

            The drug trafficking activity admitted to by the defendants took place within a one-block radius of the corner of Half Street SW and Q Street SW, one block west of Nationals Stadium.

            All five defendants were indicted in March 2018 and pled guilty in May 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. They were sentenced by the Honorable Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan.

            The most recent sentencing took place today. Jerome Fuller, 33, was sentenced to 63 months in prison after earlier pleading guilty to distribution of PCP.

            Others sentenced this week include:

            -Kione Banks, 21. He was sentenced on Aug. 13 to a 33-month prison term following his guilty plea to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute PCP. Banks also is awaiting sentencing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland after pleading guilty to the use of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime in connection with a string of armed robberies at convenience stores in Prince George’s County.

            -Raymond Boston, 27. He was sentenced on Aug. 14 to two years in prison following his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute PCP.

            -Damion Littman, 32. He was sentenced on Aug. 14 to 37 months of incarceration following his guilty plea to distribution of PCP.

            -Morriko Washington, 24. He was sentenced on Aug. 15 to five years in prison following his guilty plea to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

            Three additional defendants pled guilty to charges and are awaiting sentencing.

            In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Chittum, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the ATF and MPD. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Legal Assistant Katie Cowley. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin L. Rosenberg and William Schurmann, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, who are investigating and prosecuting the matter.