Drug Distributor Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute More Than 40 Grams of Fentanyl and Possession With Intent to Distribute Cocaine

Baltimore, Maryland – Kelly Bowers, 36, of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office, Chief Amal E. Awad, Anne Arundel County Police Department (AACOPD), and Chief Edward Jackson, Annapolis Police Department (APD).

According to the guilty plea, in August 2022, FBI investigators identified Bowers as a member of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) known as Newtowne (collectively, “the Newtowne 20 DTO”) that supplied drugs to individuals in the Annapolis area. 

During the period of the conspiracy, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland authorized wiretaps on DTO members’ electronic devices. Law enforcement intercepted numerous conversations which allowed investigators to identify individuals, including Bowers, involved in drug trafficking with Newtowne 20 DTO members.  Other charged members include Leonard Simms, sentenced to 57 months on July 1, 2025; Isiah Naylor, who pled guilty on May 23, 2025; Raheem Allsup, sentenced to 48 months on May 9, 2025; and Keith Williams, sentenced to 68 months on November 19, 2024.

Bowers served as one of the Newtowne 20 DTO’s main distributors.  Law enforcement intercepted and recorded several calls between Bowers and his customers and conversations between him and his co-conspirators.

During the investigation, law enforcement conducted surveillance and observed Bowers engaging in a drug transaction. On November 27, 2023, AACOPD investigators saw Bowers driving in Annapolis. After AACOPD officers watched Bowers conduct a hand-to-hand transaction with a known user of controlled substances, they initiated a traffic stop. Officers stopped the buyer and recovered drugs from her which later tested positive for cocaine. Additionally, law enforcement recovered cocaine from Bowers’ vehicle.

The federal wiretap led to an eventual takedown on January 25, 2024. During the investigation, law enforcement identified multiple vehicles and locations in and around Annapolis used by the Newtowne 20 DTO as stash houses and residences for drug trafficking. Then on January 25, agents executed search warrants on eight locations and four vehicles, and arrest warrants on several individuals.  Law enforcement also recovered drugs of various types and quantities from three of the targeted locations and one firearm from the residence of a co-conspirator.

In his plea agreement, Bowers agreed that he was involved in possessing at least 40 grams of fentanyl in furtherance of this drug trafficking conspiracy.  Bowers faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison, followed by up to lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 12 p.m.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, AACOPD, and APD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys LaRai Everett and Jon Tsuei who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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