Wilmington Man Pleads Guilty to Gun, Heroin Charges

WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Timothy Czeiner, age 30, of Wilmington, Delaware, pled guilty in federal court on July 10, 2017 to a four-Count Indictment charging him with gun and heroin offenses. Specifically, he pled guilty to possession of 100 grams or more of heroin with intent to distribute, with two counts of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, and with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces a five year mandatory minimum and a maximum of forty years of incarceration on the heroin charge, a maximum of ten years of incarceration on the gun possession charges, and a five year mandatory minimum and a maximum of life imprisonment on the gun in furtherance of drug trafficking charge, which must be imposed consecutively on top of his sentence on any other charges.

According to statements made in open court, on Thursday, January 28, 2016, the defendant was seated in the driver’s seat of a car on 25^th Street in Wilmington when he was approached by Wilmington Police Department officers because he had outstanding warrants. Officers saw heroin baggies stamped “Empire” and an “Empire” stamp on the floor of the passenger side of the car. When the car was searched, officers found two boxes of empty heroin baggies and a Mercedes car key.

Officers located the Mercedes to which the key belonged in the driveway of the defendant’s residence. In the trunk of the Mercedes was approximately 350 grams of bulk heroin, thousands of empty blue glassine heroin baggies, a 9 mm. handgun, a magazine loaded with eight 9 mm rounds of ammunition, and other drug paraphernalia.

When officers later searched the defendant’s cell phone, they found a video taken on January 15, 2016, which depicted the defendant handling four guns: 1) a DPMS, AR-10, .308 Caliber Rifle, 2) a MKA 1919 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, 3) a FN PS90, 5.7 x 28; and 4) a Century Arms AK47, 7.62 x 39. Because the defendant was a felon, he was not permitted to possess guns.

The defendant was on bail for the above offenses when he was arrested again on September 8, 2016 in possession of marijuana and heroin. Officers then searched defendant’s residence, where they found over 6,000 baggies of heroin. The preliminary weight, including packaging, was about 92 grams. The defendant admitted the heroin was his, that he had been dealing heroin since April 2016, and that his source of supply was in Philadelphia.

Acting United States Attorney David C. Weiss said, ““The lethal combination of guns and drugs continues to cause far too many deaths in the city of Wilmington. This case is an example of law enforcement’s absolute commitment to protect this community and hold offenders accountable.”

The FBI’s Violent Crime Safe Streets Task Force is part of the New Castle County HIDTA, a collaborative effort established in January 2015 among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. This case would not have been possible without the coordination and cooperation between the FBI, the Wilmington Police Department, and the Delaware Attorney General’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer K. Welsh.