Source: United States Department of Justice News
Possessed and Intended to Distribute More Than 400 Grams of Fentanyl—Enough to Kill 20,000 People
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Donronald Dosey, age 33, of Baltimore, Maryland, to six years in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. In fact, Dorsey admitted that he possessed more than 400 grams of fentanyl. A lethal dose of fentanyl is approximately two milligrams, so the quantity possessed by Dorsey, and which he intended to distribute, is enough to kill 20,000 people.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, from October 2020 through March 1, 2021, Dorsey was part of a drug trafficking conspiracy involving large amounts of fentanyl and other controlled substances. Dorsey and his co-conspirators operated a stash house in an apartment in Pikesville, Maryland, where they processed fentanyl and other drugs, mixing them with cutting agents and packaging them for resale.
On March 1, 2021, law enforcement saw Dorsey leave the apartment with a co-conspirator, who was carrying a bag that contained narcotics. They entered a vehicle and drove away. Law enforcement followed the vehicle to a drug store parking lot in the 1500 block of Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, where Dorsey and his co-conspirator planned to conduct a drug transaction. Law enforcement stopped the vehicle and searched Dorsey and the vehicle, recovering 20 separate clear plastic bags, each containing approximately 50 gelatin capsules. The gelcaps contained a mixture of fentanyl weighing a total of 569 grams, which Dorsey admitted he intended to distribute.
This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the DEA, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason D. Medinger and Anatoly Smolkin, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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