Former Letter Carrier Pleads Guilty to Heroin Distribution Conspiracy

Baltimore, Maryland – Former U.S. Postal Service employee Linwood R. Nelson, Jr., age 32, of Gwynn Oaks, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, and admitted to diverting packages of drugs sent through the U.S. Mail and delivering them to co-conspirators.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Postal Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Special Agent in Charge Paul L. Bowman of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

According to Nelson’s plea agreement, he was a postal carrier employed by the United States Postal Service and assigned a delivery route in Woodstock, Maryland.  From July 2014, through September 11, 2014, Nelson agreed to divert U.S. Mail parcels containing drugs, including heroin, from his regular delivery route and deliver those packages directly to various co-conspirators.

Nelson provided co-conspirators with an address along his route and instructed them to send parcels to this address, but to use false addressee names on each parcel.  Co-conspirators regularly communicated with Nelson via telephone and text message to provide descriptions of the parcels sent, including the colors of the mailed boxes and the false addressee names used.  Nelson then used the information to remove the parcels from his delivery batches, falsely scan them as “delivered” in the U.S. Postal Service computer tracking system, and then bring them to co-conspirators at an agreed-upon location.  Nelson received cash in exchange for delivering the parcels, typically $500 per parcel. 

On September 11, 2014, Nelson was arrested in possession of a package containing approximately two kilograms of heroin.  When arrested, he was on his way to meet with a co-conspirator at a pre-determined location, where Nelson was to provide the parcel containing heroin to the co-conspirator in exchange for cash. 

Nelson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison for the heroin distribution conspiracy.   Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for July 14, 2016.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, DEA, U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, and Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Joshua T. Ferrentino, who are prosecuting the case.