United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Baltimore, Maryland – A Baltimore man pled guilty in federal court to drug-trafficking crimes stemming from his role in a cross-country drug operation.

David Carroll, 35, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. The charges are in connection with a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) drug investigation.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Cindy Marx, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Maryland; and Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) – Washington, D.C. Field Office; Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD); Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).

According to the guilty plea, in 2023, federal and local law enforcement agencies began investigating a Baltimore-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) distributing large quantities of cocaine.  The DTO transported bulk quantities of cocaine from California to Maryland and then stored them in various Maryland stash houses. Carroll then distributed the cocaine in Baltimore.

Through surveillance, investigators observed Carroll frequenting one of the DTO’s stash houses in a Baltimore apartment.  Then in October 2023, investigators watched as Carroll left the Baltimore Apartment with suspected drugs concealed under his clothes.  Two days later, investigators seized a duffle bag with 19 kilograms of cocaine that another DTO member left the Baltimore Apartment with.

Following that drug seizure, investigators continued monitoring Carroll’s activities, including his Baltimore residence where he conducted drug transactions.  In January 2024, investigators observed Carroll conducting a hand-to-hand transaction with a drug customer on the front porch of his home.  Investigators also witnessed suspected drugs carried into the residence in November 2023 and March 2024.  

Then in May 2024, investigators executed a search warrant at Carroll’s residence where they recovered three loaded firearms, 20 boxes of ammunition, more than 100 grams of fentanyl pressed pills, and more than 300 grams of cocaine.  

Carroll faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances along with a minimum of five years and a maximum of life in prison for possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.  U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar set sentencing for Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 10 a.m.

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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 comprises 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-CI, BCPD, BPD, and DPSCS for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin Miner and Stanton Lawyer who are prosecuting this federal case.