Department of Justice

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced Edward Burton, age 38, of Jessup, Maryland, yesterday to 13 years in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, after Burton pleaded guilty to federal charges of possession of more than 400 grams of fentanyl with intent to distribute and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The guilty plea and sentence were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Amal E. Awad; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

According to his guilty plea, the DEA investigated a drug-trafficking organization operating in Baltimore, including Burton. On December 15, 2021, law enforcement searched a stash house used by Burton and his co-conspirators and recovered approximately 431.25 grams of mixtures or substances containing fentanyl, including a bag containing 6,450 gelatin capsules containing 231.67 gram of fentanyl and another bag containing 644 gelatin capsules containing 113 grams of fentanyl, as well as narcotics packaging materials and other drug paraphernalia. The search of the stash house also recovered seven firearms and ammunition, including three 9mm handguns; an AR-15 style rifle; a .45-caliber handgun; a 7.62 x 39mm caliber pistol; a .40-caliber rifle; .45-caliber magazines; and 7.62 x 39mm and 9mm ammunition. Law enforcement also recovered $4,376 in cash and jewelry valued at $13,550, which constituted proceeds of drug trafficking.

That same day, search warrants were executed at Burton’s home and at a storage unit that he rented. From the residence, law enforcement recovered: a .380 semi-automation handgun, loaded with eight rounds of ammunition; a .38-caliber revolver; $14,920 in cash; and jewelry valued at $447,950. From the storage unit investigators recovered: a 9mm handgun loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition; two .40-caliber handguns, one loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition, and the other with a large extended magazine loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition; and a 2019 Mercedes Benz AMG GT 63S, with Maryland registration listing Burton as the owner of the vehicle.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through relationships forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The specific mission of the Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force is to reduce violent, drug-related, and gang crime in the Baltimore area and surrounding region.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA, the ATF, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the Baltimore Police Department, the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joan C. Mathias and Ariel Evans, 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 https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

# # #