Six Men Facing Federal Drug Charges
High-Level Distribution of Cocaine around Maryland Suburbs
Greenbelt, Md., – A federal criminal complaint was unsealed today charging six men for a drug trafficking conspiracy which allegedly distributed cocaine and other drugs in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties as well as the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The criminal complaint was filed on January 13, 2022. Charged in the criminal complaint are:
Fabricio Alexis Rivera, a/k/a “Breeze,” age 30, of Rockville, Maryland;
William Reyes Garcia, a/k/a “Will,” age 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland;
Adrian Josue Velasquez, a/k/a “AJ,” age 31, of Lanham, Maryland;
Rodney Ricky Rivera, a/k/a “Rodney,” age 27, of Beltsville, Maryland;
Noel Reyes, Jr., a/k/a “June,” age 28, of Bowie, Maryland; and
Joey Garcia King, a/k/a “Joe,” age 43, of Silver Spring, Maryland.
The defendants will have initial appearances today beginning at 12:30 p.m., in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gina L. Simms.
The criminal complaint was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, the drug trafficking organization (DTO) allegedly run by F. Rivera, Reyes Garcia, and Velasquez is a tiered organization with multiple members who participate in drug trafficking. Drug customers would contact the DTO leadership, normally via phone or text message. The DTO leadership was engaged in the high-level distribution of cocaine to lower-level dealers. Customers who contacted the phones used by the leaders typically purchased controlled substances—usually cocaine—in amounts consistent with individuals who are re-distributing the drugs. The affidavit alleges that the defendants participated in the drug conspiracy between at least September 2020 and December 2021.
As detailed in the affidavit, during the investigation several packages containing approximately 15.65 kilograms of cocaine were seized by law enforcement. The packages were shipped from Brownsville, Texas to an address associated with the DTO, Business 1 in Beltsville, Maryland. The same sender was found to have sent additional packages, which investigators believe also contained narcotics, to Business 1 and to Velasquez’s residence. Tracking information obtained from the shipping company revealed that IP addresses associated with Reyes Garcia and Velasquez queried the tracking numbers on the seized packages containing cocaine as well as the additional packages. In October 2021, law enforcement seized an approximately two-kilogram package of cocaine that was sent to Reyes, Jr. Intercepted communications following the seizure allegedly showed that this package of cocaine was intended for distribution by the DTO.
The affidavit includes conversations between the conspirators allegedly discussing DTO business, collecting drug debts, arranging drug transactions, and arranging travel to Texas to obtain narcotics for transportation to Maryland.
The six defendants were arrested on January 20, 2022, based on arrest warrants issued from the criminal complaint. As part of these arrests, law enforcement executed search warrants at 21 locations associated with charged and uncharged DTO members, seizing: approximately 4.2 kilograms of cocaine; approximately 280 pounds of marijuana; a distribution quantity of phencyclidine; and approximately 12 firearms, including a ghost gun, handguns, and a rifle. In total, as part of this investigation, law enforcement has seized approximately 22 kilograms of cocaine intended for distribution by this DTO. Other DTO members were arrested on related state charges that will be prosecuted by the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County State’s Attorneys’ Offices.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
SAC Forget commended HSI, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney's Office of Maryland for their work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland State Police, the ATF, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy and their offices for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution.
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