United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BALTIMORE - U.S District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced David Paschall, age 56, of Catonsville, Maryland, to 90 month in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute oxycodone and conspiring to commit bank burglary.  Judge Motz also entered an order that Paschall forfeit $500,000, his ownership interest in Paschall’s Auto Body Shop and his residence, three firearms and his vehicle. 

Judge Motz sentenced David Paschall’s son, Chad Paschall, age 30, of Baltimore, on February 27, 2015 to 37 months in prison for the drug and burglar conspiracies, and entered an order that Chad Paschall forfeit $250,000.

The sentences were announced by Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Howard County Police Chief Gary Gardner; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Elton Malone, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; Otis E. Harris, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Chesapeake Region; and Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department.

“The sentence today of David Paschall and his son Chad should send a strong message to other individuals engaged in the illicit distribution of drugs, including prescription drugs,” stated Gary Tuggle, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office.  “Prescription drug trafficking in the Baltimore area is a growing problem and has led to heroin addiction in the area.  DEA, along with our federal, state and local partners, intends to aggressively combat this problem. We conducted a very complex investigation and due to the diligent work of all involved, the leaders of this drug trafficking organization will now spend time in a federal prison far from home.”

David Paschall operated Paschall’s Auto Body Shop, formerly located at 801 Desoto Road in Baltimore.  According to their plea agreements, it was widely known that the car shop served as a marketplace for an assortment of illegal narcotics, including oxycodone, cocaine and heroin.  David Paschall used more than five drug “brokers” to buy drugs almost every day at his shop which he would then either consume or sell for profit.  As a leader in the drug conspiracy, he supervised others in the distribution of the drugs.  In order to protect the drug conspiracy, David Paschall maintained many guns at the shop and sometimes carried a gun.  David Paschall admitted that he agreed to distribute oxycodone, cocaine and heroin from no later than 2010 to July 2013.

Chad Paschall was at the shop most every day, knew that the shop operated as a hub for drug sales and helped his father in brokering drug sales.

The defendants also admitted to committing commercial burglaries in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.  The defendants conspired to steal cash, money orders, stamps, silver bars, jewelry, cigarettes, lottery tickets, prescription drugs, food, beverages, safes, laptop computers, cell phones, electronics, vehicles and other valuable items from gas stations, convenience stores, banks, credit unions and other commercial establishments.  The conspirators often stole or attempted to steal cash from ATMs.  

The conspirators usually cut power lines, telephone lines, cables and other wires before entering a business.  They used vise grips, sledgehammers, chopsaws, grinders and blow torches to enter the business, and then often waited - for several minutes or sometimes up to several hours - before ransacking the business of its valuable items. David Paschall admitted that he committed, or attempted to commit, dozens of commercial burglaries with one or more coconspirators.  For example, David and Chad Paschall used a forklift at a salvage or junk yard located on Hawkins Point Road in Baltimore to pile several junk cars next to a rear upstairs balcony. They climbed up the cars and broke into the office off the balcony.  They used the forklift to transport a safe from the office to the ground, where it was broken open and approximately $48,000 was stolen.

To date, 16 defendants charged in the drug and burglary conspiracies have pleaded guilty to their participation in the criminal activities. Fourteen of these defendants have been sentenced, with David Paschall receiving the longest sentence thus far.