Damascus Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Charges

Greenbelt, Maryland –Adebowale Ojo, age 38, of Damascus, Maryland, pleaded guilty late yesterday to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to distribution of controlled substances, after eight days of trial.  Ojo admitted that he distributed cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin, in Maryland and West Virginia.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, during the course of the conspiracy from about May 2016 through July 2018, Ojo distributed controlled substances, including crack cocaine, cocaine, and heroin, to both users and street level dealers in Maryland, including Montgomery and Frederick Counties, as well as in West Virginia.  At times, Ojo used other individuals to turn over the drugs to his customers after Ojo arranged the sale of the substances and to drive him to conduct sales and to meet his sources of supply.

As detailed in the plea agreement, between January and March 2018, an individual purchased drugs from Ojo on four separate occasions, at the direction of law enforcement.  Ojo met the individual at a restaurant in Gaithersburg to conduct the transactions.  Ojo admitted that he sold the individual a total of 25.66 grams of crack cocaine, 5.82 grams of cocaine, 2.16 grams of heroin, and four grams of heroin/fentanyl mixtures.  Another individual purchased crack cocaine and heroin from Ojo in July 2018, at the direction of law enforcement.  That individual went to Ojo’s apartment in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where Ojo cooked the crack cocaine, then sold 2.88 grams of crack cocaine to that individual, as well as 1.64 grams of heroin.

On November 28, 2018, Ojo was a back seat passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by a Maryland State Trooper near Frederick, Maryland.  Ojo did not provide the Trooper with any identification, but did give his name.  A query of the name revealed an outstanding warrant for his arrest.  The Trooper also requested a drug detecting K-9 to scan the vehicle.  The K-9 scan was positive.  A subsequent search of Ojo’s person resulted in the discovery of a bag containing 13.82 grams of MDMA, also known as Molly and Ecstasy.  Ojo admitted that he intended to distribute the MDMA.

Ojo and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Ojo will be sentenced to between 11 and 20 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for Ojo on August 4, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland State Police for its assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica C. Collins and Kelly O. Hayes, who are prosecuting the case.

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