Eighteen Indicted for Drug Trafficking In Silver Spring and District Heights

Law enforcement officials say they have shut down an open-air drug market operating from a housing complex in Silver Spring.

Fourteen people in Silver Spring were charged with drug trafficking at a housing complex off Bel Pre Drive and another four were charged with selling drugs from a music studio in District Heights.

A federal grand jury has returned two indictments charging the 18 defendants with conspiring to distribute cocaine and heroin, and possession with intent to distribute the drugs. The indictments were returned on June 3, 2015 and unsealed Monday upon the arrest of the defendants, and the execution of search warrants at 29 homes and two businesses.

The first indictment charges 14 defendants in connection with drug trafficking operations conducted primarily at or near the housing complex in the 14000 block of Bel Pre Drive, Silver Spring. The second indictment charges four defendants with drug trafficking operations conducted primarily at or near a music studio located in the 7900 block of Cryden Way, District Heights, Maryland.

“An intensive investigation of drug dealing and related violence in the vicinity of Bel Pre Square yielded these allegations that much of the criminal activity in the area is related to an organized group of drug dealers,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Working together, local and federal authorities can help bring safety and security to Maryland neighborhoods by prosecuting criminals who deal drugs and foment violence. Surveillance and wiretaps were essential to gather the evidence.”

According to the four count indictment and court documents, the FBI and Montgomery County Police Department identified a crack cocaine and heroin distribution operation led by George Gee of Beltsville. Gee and his distribution network primarily operated in Bel Pre Drive housing complex and the surrounding area from at least June 2014 to June 3, 2015, according to the FBI news release. They allegedly used the housing complex as an open-air drug market where traffickers routinely conducted hand-to-hand drug transactions. Drugs and drug proceeds were stored at the homes of some of the defendants, according to the FBI.

The following people are charged in this indictment with conspiring to distribute cocaine base (crack), five kilograms or more of cocaine, and heroin:

• Frederick J. Davis, 31, of Gaithersburg
• William T. Fergerson, a/k/a “Fats,” 42, of Silver Spring
• George Earl Gee, 37, of Beltsville
• Tiki Harmon, 42, of Burtonsville
• Amir Bey-Jones, a/k/a “Meano,” 41, of Silver Spring
• Keenan Jones, 54, of Silver Spring
• Jovan Brian Lancaster, a/k/a “Juvie,” 30, of Maryland
• Greg Milden, 40, of Cliffside, New Jersey
• Joseph Miles, 62, of Westerport
• Brandon Richardson, 30, of Silver Spring
• Alfonso Salazar, 38, of Maryland
• Ryan Snowden, 30, of Laurel
• Sonya Darby Thomas, a/k/a “Peaches,” 37, of Gaithersburg
• Rayvon Walls, 25, of Indian Head

Gee, Snowden, Richardson, Salazar and Miles are also charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $400,000.

According to the two-count indictment and court documents, the FBI and the Montgomery County Police Department identified a heroin and cocaine distribution operation led by Anthony Niles. Niles primarily operated out of a music studio in Districts Heights, according to the news release. Niles allegedly directed and/or supplied several local drug distributors operating in Prince George’s County and the surrounding area from at least February 2015 to June 3, 2015.

The indictment charges the following defendants with conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine:

• Vincent Collins, 36, of Oxon Hill
• Sierra Lynch, 37, of Beltsville
• Anthony Niles, 36, of Bowie
• Abdul Hakim Sauda, 30, of Laurel

Niles and Sauda are also charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.

According to court documents, Harmon and Snowden worked at a barber shop on Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville where they stored drugs and drug proceeds. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $280,000.

All 18 charged face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison for the drug conspiracy, according to the news release. Gee, Snowden, Richardson, Salazar, Miles, Niles and Sauda also face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for distributing drugs.

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