Press Release
Leader of Major Drug Trafficking Conspiracy Sentenced to Prison
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison, as part of a coordinated law enforcement takedown codenamed Operation Tin Panda, that to date has resulted in 39 defendants convicted on federal firearms and drug charges.
According to court documents, Rashourn Niles, 37, pleaded guilty on April 17 to conspiring to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base, five kilograms or more of cocaine, and 100 grams or more of heroin. He was the main source of cocaine supply for Tarvell Vandiver, who is his stepson and the regional leader of the Imperial Gangsta Bloods. He taught Vandiver how to manufacture “crack” cocaine from the cocaine, and he also put Vandiver in contact with heroin distributors. At all times, Niles knew that Vandiver distributed the controlled substances while armed.
Niles also regularly sold large quantities of cocaine and heroin to other drug distributors operating within the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere. During the conspiracy, Niles stored controlled substances and drug proceeds at multiple residences, and used the proceeds from his drug distribution to purchase luxury vehicles, including a Bentley, Range Rover, Jaguar, and BMW X6, and expensive jewelry, including Rolexes and a necklace worth $45,000.
Niles was arrested in December 2017, when over 300 law enforcement agents and officers executed a coordinated takedown as part of Operation Tin Panda. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division and the FBI’s Washington Field Office Safe Streets Task Force began Operation Tin Panda in the spring of 2017. In collaboration with federal and local law enforcement, investigators and prosecutors began jointly investigating Blood gangs and other drug distributors involved in violent crime and other criminal activity in northern Virginia. Multiple criminal acts were tied to gang and drug activity, including homicide, malicious wounding, robbery, shootings, and drug and firearms distribution. During the course of this investigation, more than 40 individuals throughout Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and California, who were illegally selling firearms and controlled substances or were involved in other criminal acts, were arrested on federal firearms and drug charges.
Operation Tin Panda also resulted in the seizure of over 95 firearms, $150,000 in cash, nine vehicles with an estimated value of over $300,000, and approximately 3 pounds of cocaine base, 10 pounds of cocaine, 7 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 5 pounds of heroin, 4 pounds of ecstasy, 227 pounds of marijuana, and 79 pounds of THC.
Operation Tin Panda was led by the ATF’s Washington Field Division and the FBI’s Washington Field Office Safe Streets Task Force. The DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Prince William County Police Department, Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, Fairfax County Police Department, Alexandria Police Department, Stafford County Sherriff’s Office, Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, King George County Sheriff’s Office, Caroline County Sheriff’s Office, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Prince George’s County, Maryland Police Department, and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, provided significant assistance during the operation.
Operation Tin Panda was investigated as part of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
For more information, please see the table below, which lists the name, age, hometown, respective charge(s), and resulting or potential sentence for each federal defendant convicted as part of Operation Tin Panda.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carina A. Cuellar and Colleen E. Garcia prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER.
Name, Age, City |
Conviction(s) |
Result |
Sade Anglin, 28, Woodbridge |
Maintaining a Drug Premises. |
Sentenced to 18 months. |
Ishmil Hardwick, 25, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 78 months. |
Rashourn Niles, 37, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute 280 grams or more of Cocaine Base, 5 kilograms or more of Cocaine, and 100 grams or more of Heroin. |
Sentenced to 20 years |
Raheem Kelly, 39, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute 28 grams or more of Cocaine Base. |
Faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years on Sept. 7. |
Michael Lederer, 31, Woodbridge |
Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. |
Faces a maximum of 10 years on Sept. 21. |
Tarvell Vandiver, 29, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute 280 grams or more of Cocaine Base, 5 kilograms or more of Cocaine, 100 grams or more of Heroin, and Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Faces 20 years on October 19. |
Montreus Peterson, 23, Stafford |
Conspiracy to Distribute 280 grams or more of Cocaine Base |
Faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life on Oct. 19. |
Tyus Terrell, 22, Woodbridge |
Felon in Possession of a Firearm |
Faces a maximum of 10 years on Dec. 14. |
Jorge Lozada, Jr., 22, Woodbridge |
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of life. |
Frederick Preston Gaarsoe Turner, 36, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Distribute, two counts of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 40 years. |
Nasiru Carew, 35, Dale City |
Conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of Marijuana and THC. |
Sentenced to 16 years. |
Ja’vell Johnson, 26, Falls Church |
Conspiracy to Distribute 100 grams or more of Heroin. |
Sentenced to 6 years. |
Bassam Hassan Ramadan, 31, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine, Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 16 years. |
Cory Patterson, 34, Fredericksburg |
Conspiracy to Distribute one kilogram or more of Heroin, Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to Drug Trafficking. |
Sentenced to 15 years. |
Marcus Andrei Harris, 27, Washington, D.C. |
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine, Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 15 years. |
Brandon Edler, 23, Fredericksburg |
Conspiracy to Distribute 28 grams or more of Cocaine Base, Felon in Possession of a Firearm. |
Sentenced to 12 years. |
Cydrick Delrosario, 58, Springfield |
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine. |
Sentenced to 11 years. |
Chennor Bah, 30, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute 500 grams or more of Cocaine, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 10 years. |
Anthony Lozada, 18, Woodbridge |
Use, Carry, Brandish, and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 10 years. |
Devon Byrd, 26, King George |
Possession of THC with the Intent to Distribute, and Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 112 months. |
Teodoro Gonzales, 37, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of a Mixture of Methamphetamine, Felon in Possession of a Firearm. |
Sentenced to 9 years. |
Tayvon Patterson, 24, Elkridge, Maryland |
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and THC, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 90 months. |
Jerry McAllister, 42, Laurel, Maryland |
Conspiracy to Distribute 100 grams or more of Heroin. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Mark Ketter, 39, Alexandria |
Conspiracy to Distribute 100 grams or more of Heroin. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Nathaniel Bruce Cobbold, 27, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and THC. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Jamar Cox, 30, Hyattsville, Maryland |
Use and Carry of Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Deion Wright, 25, Alexandria |
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Kelvin Bennett, 27, Washington, D.C. |
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Ezana Demisse, 25, Alexandria |
Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to Drug Trafficking. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Alpha Kamara, 20, Woodbridge |
Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Orean Anthony Hayden, 29, Alexandria |
Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Bryan Matthews, 19, Alexandria |
Use and Carry of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. |
Sentenced to 5 years. |
Shannon Marie Sisney, 44, Virginia Beach |
Conspiracy to Distribute 50 grams or more of Methamphetamine. |
Sentenced to 50 months. |
Izeah Williams, 31, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and THC. |
Sentenced to 38 months. |
Robert Evans, 27, Woodbridge |
Conspiracy to Distribute THC. |
Sentenced to 30 months. |
Tavon Bailey, 27, District Heights, Maryland |
Felon in Possession of a Firearm. |
Sentenced to 30 months. |
Tavon Ferguson, 24, Triangle |
Felon in Possession of a Firearm. |
Sentenced to 27 months. |
Derek Harden, 22, Woodbridge |
False Statements During the Purchase of a Firearm. |
Sentenced to 18 months. |
Kaitlyn McCabe, 19, Woodbridge |
False Statements During the Purchase of a Firearm. |
Sentenced to 6 months. |
Samantha Winter, 22, Culpepper |
Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, False Statements During the Purchase of a Firearm, False Statement to a Licensed Firearms Dealer. |
Sentenced to 2 years of probation. |
Contact
Joshua Stueve
Director of Communications
joshua.stueve@usdoj.gov
Updated September 7, 2018
Topics
Drug Trafficking
Firearms Offenses
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Violent Crime
Component