United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BALTIMORE, Md., – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang today sentenced Thomas Parker III, a/k/a “June,” age 53, of Washington, D.C., to 90 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and powder and crack cocaine.  Eight co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug conspiracy.  

The sentence was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; Jonathan F. Lenzner, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; James R. Mancuso, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Chief Malik Azziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Troy Berry, Charles County Sheriff.

According to Parker’s guilty plea, from September 2017 to July 2018, Parker and his co-conspirators distributed heroin, fentanyl, and powder and crack cocaine to drug users and distributors in the Maryland and D.C. area.  Specifically, Parker supplied heroin and cocaine to co-defendants Arsenio Cleckley (a major narcotics trafficker in Maryland and Washington, D.C), and Diamante Hailey.

 As detailed in his plea agreement, on March 9, 2018, Parker and Cleckley spoke over the phone and Parker told Cleckley that he was serving time in a halfway house, but that a co-conspirator could supply drugs to Cleckley until Parker was released.  Shortly thereafter, the co-conspirator sold heroin to Cleckley.  Cleckley later complained to Parker that the heroin he got from the co-conspirator was diluted too much.  On March 12, 2018, Parker arranged to supply Cleckley with 28 grams of heroin and 31 grams of cocaine.  The next day, Cleckley told Parker he wanted to purchase “28 plus 10,” which meant he wanted 28 grams of heroin for himself and 10 grams of heroin for one of his associates.  During the conversation, Cleckley again complained about the quality of the heroin he had previously obtained from the co-conspirator.  Later on March 13, 2018, Cleckley called Hailey and told him that Cleckley had obtained 10 grams of heroin on Hailey’s behalf from Parker.

Parker also admitted that on March 15, 2018, he distributed 28 grams of heroin to Cleckley in exchange for $1,800.  Cleckley then contacted Hailey to let him know that Cleckley was going to direct heroin users to Hailey’s location so that the users could purchase heroin from Hailey.  Later the same day, Cleckley told Hailey that Cleckley intended to purchase an additional 28 to 30 grams of heroin from Parker that Cleckley could split with Hailey.

Between March 20 and May 25, 2018, Parker and Cleckley continued to negotiate drug transactions, including a conversation where Cleckley asked Parker to lower the price he was charging for a gram of heroin, and conversations in which Parker advised Cleckley that Hailey and Cleckly owed him money.  During one such call on May 25, 2018, Cleckley told Parker that he recently “fell in a hole” when one of Cleckley’s distributors, James Belt, was arrested in Accokeek, Maryland on May 18, 2018, with 32.5 grams of crack cocaine.

Co-defendants Arsenio Cleckley, a/k/a Bund, age 32 of Accokeek, Maryland;  Diamante Lacelle Hailey, a/k/a Tay, age 27 of Clinton, Maryland; James Belt, a/k/a JB, age 32, of Lanham, Maryland; Alphonso Leroy Anthony Black, a/k/a Kobe, age 25 of Temple Hills, Maryland; Terri Bordeaux, a/k/a CeCe and Auntie, age 50, of Washington, D.C.; Christina Marshall, a/k/a Chrissy, age 32, of Accokeek; Devin Simmons, age 42, of Marbury, Maryland; and William Stewart, a/k/a Lil’ Will, age 24, also of Marbury, all previously pleaded guilty.  Simmons, Belt, Hailey, Stewart, and Black were sentenced to between five years in federal prison and time served—approximately 22 months, each followed by three years of supervised release.  The remaining defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in the next two months. 

SAC Forget commended HSI, the Prince George County Police Department, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney's Office of Maryland for their work in the investigation.  

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