DC Man Convicted of Third Federal Drug-Trafficking Crime in HSTF Case
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury convicted a Washington, DC, man of multiple drug-trafficking and firearm crimes.
The jury found Ronthony Ward, 60, guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and phencyclidine; possession of a firearm by a prohibited person; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty verdict with Acting Special Agent in Charge Shane K. Todd, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office; Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD); Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD); and Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).
During the four-day trial, the evidence showed that Ward was a member of a large-scale drug- trafficking operation based in Prince George’s County, Maryland. In August 2023, while investigating a suspected Baltimore cocaine trafficker, DEA investigators tracked the intended target from Baltimore to a remote parking lot in National Harbor, Maryland. The target met with two unknown men in an SUV. Since investigators didn’t know who the other men were, they ran the vehicle’s registration and learned it was registered to Ward.
Following the five-minute meeting, the target drove back to Baltimore as investigators followed. The target led investigators to a Baltimore apartment complex where he removed three duffle bags. Investigators then approached the target and observed drugs through a rip in one of the bags. Law enforcement arrested the target and discovered 43 kilograms of cocaine stuffed in the bags.
After law enforcement learned that the drugs came from Ward’s drug operation, the DEA began investigating Ward. Investigators then identified a Fort Washington, Maryland residence as the drug operation’s stash house. The residence is also where Ward lived with his minor child.
Additionally, Ward and his minor child were present when investigators found two loaded firearms on the top of a refrigerator and another firearm on the kitchen floor during a search. Ward is prohibited from possessing firearms due to two prior drug-related felony convictions.
During the search, law enforcement also discovered 63 grams of fentanyl powder on a kitchen counter; additional fentanyl and 68 grams of heroin inside of a kitchen freezer; 125 grams of cocaine inside his bedroom closet; and a drug ledger in the basement documenting the 43-kilogram cocaine transaction on August 30. Investigators also searched Ward’s car and found additional fentanyl powder packaged in small baggies, counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl, phencyclidine, and additional cocaine packaged in small baggies.
Ward is facing life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum of five years for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, which shall be imposed consecutive to any other sentence. He also faces an additional mandatory minimum of five years in connection with his drug-trafficking counts, which are punishable up to 40 years, and up to 15 years for the unlawful firearm charge. Sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2, at 3 p.m.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This prosecution is part of the HSTF initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Baltimore is comprised of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); the United States Marshals Service (USMS); the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA (W/B HIDTA); the Maryland State Police (MSP); the Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DEA, HSI, IRS, BPD, BCPD, and DPSCS for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Calvin C. Miner and Stanton M.B. Lawyer who are prosecuting the federal case, and recognized Paralegal Specialist Briana Scarborough, for her assistance and legal support.
