Alexander Traveled Across State Lines to Acquire and Distribute Two Kilograms of Cocaine; Alexander Possessed a Firearm in Furtherance of His Drug Trafficking Activities
August 11, 2021 - Greenbelt, Maryland – Ian Carlton Alexander a/k/a “Shawn Alexander”, age 49, of Towson, Maryland, pleaded guilty on August 10, 2021, to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine 
and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner and Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division.
According to his guilty plea, on October 3, 2019, Alexander travelled from his Towson, Maryland residence to New York to acquire 1,990 grams of cocaine that Alexander intended to distribute to a potential narcotics customer in Maryland. The following day, as Alexander was returning from New York to Maryland, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Alexander in Maryland. On October 4, 2019, law enforcement recovered approximately two kilograms of cocaine in the passenger compartment of Alexander’s car and a 9mm handgun in the vehicle’s center console. Law enforcement also recovered approximately $3,357 in U.S. currency from Alexander’s person at the time of the arrest.
As detailed in his plea agreement, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Alexander’s Towson, Maryland residence. As a result of the search warrant, law enforcement seized 28 grams of heroin, an assault rifle, and two AR-15 box magazines loaded with armor piercing ammunition. Alexander agreed that the $3,357 seized from his persons were proceeds of cocaine distribution and that he possessed the 9mm handgun in furtherance his cocaine trafficking activities.
Prior to October 3, 2019, Alexander had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year and his civil rights had not been restored.
Alexander and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Alexander will be sentenced to between 61 months and 78 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for November 16, 2021, at 1:00 p.m.
This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The specific mission of the Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force is to reduce violent, drug-related, and gang crime in the Baltimore area and surrounding region.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the DEA for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Pulice, who is prosecuting the case.
Source: DOJ Release
