Maryland Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm Charges Resulting From HSTF Investigation

Baltimore, Maryland – A Maryland man pled guilty in federal court, today, to charges stemming from his role as a drug supplier. 

Alcedo Hodge, Jr., 29, of Parkville, is charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charges are in connection with a multi-state federal drug investigation.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division; Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD); Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).

In 2024, the DEA investigated a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in Richmond, Virginia.  Investigators identified Co-Conspirator 1 (CC-1) as one of the DTO’s re-supply sources, along with Hodge. Then in December 2024, law enforcement intercepted wiretap conversations about the DTO’s cocaine re-supply in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. 

On December 5, investigators covertly followed a DTO member who drove from Virginia to Owings Mills, Maryland, to meet CC-1. During the surveillance, law enforcement observed Hodge arrive at a secluded shopping center parking lot. The DTO member and CC-1 then followed Hodge in their vehicles. 

 While in the parking lot, investigators saw CC-1 exit Hodge’s vehicle. Then, as Hodge left the parking lot, CC-1 called the DTO member over to his vehicle.  Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on the DTO member after he returned to Virginia later that day.  Investigators searched the DTO member’s car, recovering one kilogram of cocaine.

Additionally, in January 2025, investigators observed Hodge engaging in another suspected drug transaction. Then on March 17, 2025, investigators initiated a traffic stop on Hodge in Baltimore County after observing an additional suspected drug transaction.  During the traffic stop, a K-9 unit scanned the vehicle and returned a positive alert for the controlled substances.  Investigators searched the vehicle and recovered three kilograms of cocaine; a fully loaded Glock semi-automatic handgun equipped with a 22-round capacity extended magazine; and approximately $78,000 in cash. 

After law enforcement arrested Hodge, investigators searched his Parkville residence. Inside his residence, investigators recovered an additional three kilograms of cocaine; another loaded firearm, which was stolen; and two digital money counters.  Hodge acknowledged that he intended to use the recovered firearms and U.S. currency to facilitate his drug offense. 

Hodge faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine along with a minimum of five years and a maximum of life in prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.  U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar set sentencing for Tuesday, August 18, at 11 a.m.

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Baltimore comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI); the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); the United States Marshals Service (USMS); the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA (W/B HIDTA); the Maryland State Police (MSP); the Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DEA, BCPD, BPD, and DPSCS for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin Miner who is prosecuting this federal case.

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

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