U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Jeffrey Wayne Spencer, age 26, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, to 12 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl, and for illegal possession of two machineguns.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, in October 2021, law enforcement received information that Spencer, known as “Jefe,” was distributing fentanyl and other controlled substances from an apartment in Oxon Hill, Maryland. To corroborate the tip, law enforcement arranged for a confidential source to make two purchases of fentanyl from Spencer at the residence.
On November 4, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant for the apartment. Spencer was the only person in the home at the time and was in the process of cutting and packaging fentanyl on the dining room table.
On the dining room table, law enforcement seized 128 individual packaged baggies containing 17.7 grams of fentanyl; unpackaged loose white powdery substance in piles, determined to contain 35.95 grams of fentanyl; a money counter; and a black digital scale.
On the living room couch in plain view near the dining room table, law enforcement seized a 9mm handgun with a full automatic switch. The firearm had one round of ammunition in the chamber ready to be fired and 49 additional rounds of ammunition inside a drum magazine.
On the kitchen counter, law enforcement seized an additional 9mm handgun magazine containing approximately 14 rounds of ammunition.
From a shoebox in the bedroom closet, law enforcement seized a .40 caliber handgun with a full automatic switch. The firearm had one round of ammunition in the chamber ready to be fired and a .40 caliber handgun magazine containing approximately 11 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition. Also located in the shoebox was an extended magazine containing approximately 32 rounds of 9mm ammunition, as well as a tray containing approximately 5 additional rounds of .40 caliber ammunition.
From inside a Burberry bag, law enforcement seized a glass jar containing 28 9mm rounds. From inside a green igloo bag, law enforcement seized a heat-sealed bag containing 499.9 grams of fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue and $77.50 in U.S. currency.
Law enforcement also seized $7,765 in cash from the bathroom.
An FBI DNA analysis confirmed the presence of Spencer’s DNA on the seized firearms and firearm magazines and Spencer admitted that he possessed the firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the DEA for its assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick D. Kibbe and Adam K. Ake, who prosecuted the case.
