Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced George Trent, age 28, and Kendrick Kelly, age 38, both of Baltimore, Maryland, to 12 years in prison and 10 years in prison, respectively, each followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin. Trent was sentenced on January 4, 2017 and Kelly was sentenced on January 3, 2017.
The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Kevin Davis of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to their plea agreements, between April 2015 and April 2016 Trent and Kelly conspired with Courtney Barrett and others to process and distribute heroin. The conspirators met at an apartment on St. Paul Street in Baltimore to mix the heroin with cutting agent and place it in gel capsules for further redistribution in the Baltimore area. The conspirators used the St. Paul Street apartment to process heroin for several months, producing thousands of gel capsules of heroin each week.
Kelly and Trent subsequently used an apartment on Battery Avenue in Baltimore to process the heroin. On April 7, 2016, a search warrant was executed at the apartment, after both Trent and Kelly were seen entering and exiting the apartment that day. More than a kilogram of heroin was found hidden inside and just outside the apartment. Law enforcement also recovered items used in the processing of narcotics, including cutting agent, latex gloves, and a large number of empty gel capsules.
As part of their plea agreements, Trent and Kelly admitted that over the course of the conspiracy they distributed more than three kilograms of heroin.
Courtney Barrett, age 30, of Woodlawn, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 18, 2017.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew C. Sullivan, who is prosecuting the case.