Upper Marlboro Man Pleads Guilty to Participating in Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

September 17, 2018

FBI Recovered Crack, Cocaine, PCP, Fentanyl, and Firearms During Investigation

Everette Reel, 46, of Upper Marlboro, pled guilty today to trafficking in crack and cocaine following an investigation into a narcotics conspiracy involving eight individuals in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

Reel pled guilty before the Honorable Richard J. Leon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base and a detectable amount of cocaine. The charge requires a mandatory minimum sentence of five years of incarceration and up to 40 years in prison. Judge Leon scheduled sentencing for Dec. 14, 2018.

Reel was arrested with seven other individuals in March 2018 on charges stemming from a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and 280 grams or more of crack. In May 2015, the FBI, with the assistance of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), began a long-term investigation into a drug trafficking organization that operated in the Montana Terrace neighborhood of Northeast Washington and extended into Maryland. Numerous defendants also were charged with possessing and distributing various narcotics, including crack, cocaine, PCP and fentanyl, during the period of the investigation.

During the execution of a search warrant on Reel’s residence, FBI agents recovered approximately 15 grams of cocaine, a .40 caliber Springfield Armory pistol, 12 rounds of ammunition in two separate calibers, a gun box, and approximately $16,000 in cash.

This case is part of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF specializes in the investigation and prosecution of drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and related criminal enterprises.

In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, commended the work of those who investigated the case. They also cited the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialists Jeannette Litz and Teesha Tobias, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Swanton, of the Asset Forfeiture & Money Laundering Section, who assisted with forfeiture related issues, and Christopher Macchiaroli and Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Section, who conducted the underlying investigation, indicted the case, and are prosecuting the remaining defendants.