Hanover man pleads guilty to sending drugs in mail
A Hanover man pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges for participating in a drug distribution conspiracy involving large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana that were shipped by mail from California to Maryland, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced Monday.
Dwight Antonio Pitts, 47, pleaded guilty to his involvement in mailing 121 parcels from post offices in the Los Angeles area to locations in Maryland, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Maryland’s U.S. Attorney Erek Barron said in a statement that law enforcement officers wiretapped Pitts and a Laurel man, Michael Fisher, also known as Mark Wilson, and other individuals involved in the drug distribution conspiracy.
An investigation led to officers seizing 35 kilograms of cocaine, 6.5 kilograms of fentanyl and about 50 kilograms of marijuana. Police also seized more than $1.5 million that Pitts admitted was money earned from selling drugs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Investigators also seized 15 firearms from locations associated with Pitts and Fisher.
The two men traveled to California multiple times to obtain kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl and then mailed the narcotics back to Maryland for distribution using the U.S. Postal Service, according to the attorney general’s office.
Maryland State Police, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Services were investigating the drug trafficking conspiracy involving Pitts, Fisher and other individuals in November 2019 when officers began intercepting calls between the men via a wiretap. Pitts, Fisher and other conspirators discussed distributing drugs with each other and other people during the calls, according to the attorney general’s office.
Investigators surveilled drug transactions conducted by Pitts and Fisher. In a video, Pitts entered a post office at the same time two parcels, one containing more than 2 kilograms of cocaine and one with more than 2 kilograms of fentanyl, were mailed on Aug. 13, 2020, from the El Segundo Branch Post Office to a location in Hyattsville, Maryland, that Pitts leased. U.S. postal inspectors intercepted several parcels in the mail between May and August 2020.
Fisher was also seen on camera on Aug. 13, 2020, transferring a box containing about $190,000 in cash to a co-conspirator’s car. Officers received consent to search the conspirator’s LA residence and recovered two duffel bags containing about 30 kilograms of cocaine and two other duffel bags containing more than $193,000, according to the attorney general’s office.
Law enforcement officers executed search warrants at one Las Vegas residence and six Maryland locations associated with Pitts and Fisher on Aug. 17, 2020. Investigators found six firearms at locations associated with Pitts and nine firearms at locations associated with Fisher. Overall, investigators seized 25 kilograms of cocaine, 6.5 kilograms of fentanyl and about 50 kilograms of marijuana, along with $1.5 million.
Pitts agreed in his plea that evidence, including searches of conspirators’ cellphones and video surveillance, showed that Pitts was involved in a conspiracy that mailed about 121 parcels from LA area post offices to locations in Maryland. Pitts agreed in his plea that he directly helped distribute 8.5 kilograms of fentanyl, about 150 kilograms of cocaine and about 50 kilograms of marijuana.
A judge will likely sentence Pitts to 12 to 15 years at a federal prison if the court accepts his guilty plea. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March.