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Press Release

Two Members of Kennedy Street Crew Sentenced for Fentanyl Trafficking, Money Laundering

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia
The KDY Crew Operated Open-Air Drug Markets in Northwest Washington D.C.

            WASHINGTON – Aaron DeAndre Mercer, 33, and Ronald Lynn Dorsey, 30, both of Washington D.C. and members of the violent Kennedy Street Crew (KDY), were sentenced today to federal prison terms for their roles in a drug trafficking organization operating open-air drug markets in Northwest Washington D.C.

            Mercer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for being a bulk supplier of fentanyl, marijuana, and cocaine base for the KDY organization. Dorsey was sentenced to 30 months for laundering KDY’s trafficking proceeds by establishing phony businesses and shell companies and by using local casinos.

            The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, DEA Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Washington Division, ATF Special Agent in Charge James VanVliet of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives - Washington Division, and Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter, of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office.

            Mercer, aka “Curby,” pleaded guilty on June 14, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, marijuana, and cocaine base before U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell. Dorsey pleaded guilty on February 8, 2024, to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

            According to court documents, KDY members operated open-air drug markets on an 11-block stretch of Kennedy Street in Northwest Washington, D.C., as well as surrounding streets. Like many drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), KDY armed itself with fire power to facilitate the drug trade and defend its territory from rival crews.

            For his part, Mercer conspired with his KDY associates to traffic fentanyl in bulk in addition to cocaine base and marijuana.  Dorsey concealed the proceeds of KDY’s illegal operations, helping to smuggle bulk quantities of drugs by flying 15 times to the West Coast, and conducting retail sales of crack cocaine and marijuana in the open-air markets. Dorsey and co-defendant Kenneth Olugbenga created two businesses for money laundering: Heavy Baggz LLC and HBG LLC. The later purported to be a music, entrepreneurial, and car detailing business, but tax records for both entities confirmed that neither business reported income. Dorsey, aka “HBGeezy,” also used the businesses to apply for, and receive, two forgivable loans from the Small Business Administration during the Covid pandemic. He allegedly used the EIDL and PPP loans to purchase bulk narcotics to further fuel KDY’s drug trafficking. Dorsey and his co-conspirators also concealed illicit income at D.C. area casinos by using drug trafficking proceeds to wager bets, then cash out the funds after incurring small losses to make the funds appear as if they were legitimate.

            This investigation was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

            It was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, the DEA’s Washington Division, ATF’s Washington Field Division, FBI Washington Field Office and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Washington, D.C. Office.

            It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey and Sitara Witanachchi of the of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by former Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Lynch.

 

DEFENDANTS

 

NAME

AGE

CHARGES

Kenneth Ademola Olugbenga

27

Pleaded Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or more of Cocaine Base, and a Detectable Amount of Marijuana; and Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense.

Khali Ahmed Brown, aka “Migo Lee”

22

Charged with Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Kilograms or More of Marijuana and 400 Grams or More of Fentanyl; Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Aiding and Abetting; Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl; Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana; Possessing a Machine Gun During a Drug Trafficking Offense; Unlawful Possession of a Machine Gun; Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number

Miasiah Jamal Brown, aka “Michael Jamal Crawford”

21

Pleaded Guilty to Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense

Tristan Miles Ware, aka “Greedy”

23

Pleaded Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Kilograms or More of Marijuana; and Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense

Herman Eric-Bibmin Signou, aka “Herman Signour”

23

Sentenced 3/22/2024, to 40 Months for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 100 Kilograms of More of Marijuana

Cameron Xavier Reid

26

Sentenced 5/31/2024, to Five Years for Conspiracy to Distribute 100 Kilograms of More of Marijuana

Aaron DeAndre Mercer, aka “Curby,”

27

Sentenced 9/13/2024, to 10 Years for Conspiracy to Distribute 400 Grams or More of Fentanyl, Marijuana, and Cocaine Base

David Penn, aka “Turtle”

30

Pleaded Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute 40 Grams or More of Fentanyl; and two counts of Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense.

Ronald Lynn Dorsey, aka “Ron G” and “HBGeezy”

29

Sentenced 9/13/2024, to 30 Months for Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering

Antonio Reginald Bailey, aka “Boy Boy,” and “Fellow King”

22

Sentenced 2/8/24, to 24 Months for Receiving a Firearm While Under Indictment

Anthony Trayon Bailey, aka “Fat Ant,” and “Bizzle”

27

Sentenced 4/26/24, to 15 months for Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Marijuana Within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location

Angel Enrique Suncar, aka “Coqui”

29

Pleaded Guilty to Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense

Warren Lawrence Fields, III, aka B-Dub

26

Sentenced 5/16/24, to 90 months for Possessing a Firearm During a Drug Trafficking Offense and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering

     

            Defendant Cameron Reid is from Falmouth, VA; all remaining defendants are from Washington, D.C.

23cr0202

Updated September 13, 2024

Topic
Drug Trafficking
Press Release Number: 24-746