Maryland Man Sentenced for Drug Distribution Charges in Connection With Death of Teenage Girl
Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal judge sentenced a Gaithersburg, Maryland, man for a drug-trafficking offense that resulted in the death of a 15-year-old girl.
U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Kelvin Reyes, 27, to 14 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for distribution of controlled substances after selling narcotics to the minor victim who contacted him on a social media platform.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Acting Special Agent in Charge Frank Saldana, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division, Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI Baltimore Field Office, and Acting Chief Darren Francke, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD).
According to court documents, on January 14, 2023, Reyes distributed fentanyl to the teenaged victim. The victim later used the substance and subsequently died.
Evidence shows that late in the evening of January 13, the victim contacted Reyes on Instagram about purchasing fentanyl. Reyes agreed to sell fentanyl to the victim, so he requested an address for delivery. The victim then instructed Reyes to meet her at an elementary school near her residence in Montgomery County.
The investigation revealed that Reyes’s phone was located at the school where he agreed to meet the victim in the early morning hours of January 14. Ring camera footage from the victim’s residence also confirms she left her residence around the same timeframe and returned home approximately three minutes later. Reyes then posted an Instagram story advertising he was driving around in his car selling fentanyl after he met the victim.
The victim’s mother reported that around 7 a.m., she found her daughter in her room in a fetal position with fluid coming out of her mouth and nose area. She also saw a burnt piece of aluminum foil with fentanyl residue next to the victim. An autopsy later revealed that the victim’s cause of death was fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl intoxication.
On January 24, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Reyes’s residence where they found a digital scale; clear plastic bags; a plastic zip-top bag containing $5.13 in U.S. coins; and numerous orange zip-top bags, foil, and straws with residue.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DEA, FBI, and MCPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle A. Li and Kenneth S. Clark, who prosecuted this federal case.
