Baltimore County Felon Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Federal Prison for Obtaining Two Kilograms of Cocaine to Distribute and for Illegal Possession of a Firearm
Defendant Traveled to New York to Purchase Two Kilograms of Cocaine to Distribute in Maryland; Was Prohibited from Possessing a Firearm
Greenbelt, Md., – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Ian Carlton Alexander a/k/a “Shawn Alexander”, age 50, of Towson, to 61 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The sentence was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel A. Adame of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief Robert J. Contee III of the Metropolitan Police Department; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, on October 3, 2019, Alexander traveled from his Towson, Maryland residence to New York to acquire 1,990 grams of cocaine that he intended to distribute to a potential narcotics customer in Maryland. The following day, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Alexander as he was returning from New York to Maryland. Law enforcement recovered approximately two kilograms of cocaine in the passenger compartment and a 9mm handgun in the vehicle’s center console. Law enforcement also recovered approximately $3,357 from Alexander’s person at the time of the arrest.
As detailed in his plea agreement, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Alexander’s Towson, Maryland residence. As a result of the search warrant, law enforcement seized 28 grams of heroin, an assault rifle, and two AR-15 box magazines loaded with armor-piercing ammunition.
Alexander knew that as the result of a previous felony conviction, he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.
SAC Forget commended the USPIS, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney's Office of Maryland for their work in the investigation.
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