Feds partner with Maryland, Baltimore officials to fight fentanyl crisis

Officials sent out a big warning Wednesday to anyone who sells fentanyl in Baltimore City: Your case could end up in federal court with federal sentencing guidelines.

Fentanyl deaths have sharply and quickly increased in Maryland, so much so that leaders from the top tier of federal, state and Baltimore City law enforcement have formed a team to combat the issue.

“The fentanyl crisis is so acute that all of us have agreed to come together and get this initiative going,” said Robert K. Hur, U.S. attorney for Maryland.

Now, every arrest in Baltimore City that involves fentanyl distribution will be jointly scrutinized by federal and state prosecutors to figure out whether the cases can be handled in the federal court system.

“I forewarn those fentanyl drug distributors: You don’t want to come against the U.S. attorney and the federal sentencing guidelines,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said.

“Now, we are seeing mostly fentanyl, and it’s very rare that we see heroin anymore, so it just underscores how serious an issue this is and how deadly what’s being put out there is,” said Patrick Jennings, with the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is also part of the new team.

“People are asking for fentanyl instead of heroin, and in addition to that, you are seeing fentanyl mixed with not only heroin, you’re seeing it mixed with cocaine, you’re seeing it mixed with marijuana,” said Special Agent Todd Edwards, with the DEA Baltimore Office.

The new strategy to combat the fentanyl crisis is already in play.

“This effort is labeled the Synthetic Opioid Surge, or SOS for short. This initiative has led to a first batch of federal indictments,” Hur said.

The indictments announced Wednesday are against Gari Miller, 38, of Clinton; Davon Nelson, 33, of Baltimore; Terrell Perry, 34, of Baltimore; and Aubrey Heckstall, 46, of Baltimore. They are charged federally with conspiracy and with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. The indictments involve three cases that began in Baltimore City that are now being prosecuted in U.S. District Court.

“Look, we’re not going to use this as a blanket tool. It’s going to be a very, very strategic tool, a tool that will allow us to go after the worst of the worst,” Interim Baltimore Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle said.

Individuals charged federally under this initiative may face substantial minimum mandatory sentences, no parole and no suspended sentences, and sentences are often served in federal prisons far from Baltimore.

The SOS cases are not the traditional, mainstream cases federal officials go after, but they’re doing that. Officials said Wednesday that during recent arrests, they recovered quantities of fentanyl that are lethal enough to potentially kill 13 million people.

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