Member of Baltimore-Area Heroin Organization Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

Organization Used a Home Located Less Than 1,000 Feet from a Baltimore Charter School to Process and Distribute Heroin

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Michael Felton, age 39, of Baltimore, today to 20 in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and for being a felon in possession of a gun. Felton was convicted by a federal jury on April 25, 2012, after a 10day trial.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Maryland-Delaware Division; Assistant Director in Charge James W. McJunkin of the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Washington Field Office; Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III; Major Michael Kundrat, Senior Commander of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police; Michael A. Pristoop, Chief of the Annapolis Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare, Sr.; Colonel Marcus Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Special Agent in Charge Ava Cooper-Davis of the Drug Enforcement Administration-Washington Field Division; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to trial testimony, as part of a long-term investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into a heroin drug trafficking organization, calls intercepted over Christian Gettis’ phone revealed that Gettis distributed significant quantities of heroin in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Law enforcement intercepted conversations between Gettis and Felton during which Felton arranged to purchase heroin from Gettis to resell to his own customers. During the investigation, a search was executed at Felton’s home and law enforcement recovered a loaded .40 caliber handgun

The testimony showed that the conspirators used a home that was less than 1,000 feet from a charter school in Baltimore City to process and distribute heroin. The investigation revealed that the conspirators distributed heroin in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, and a housing project in Annapolis.

The jury found that Felton conspired to distribute between one and three kilograms of heroin.

To date, 27 defendants have pleaded guilty to their participation in the Gettis drug trafficking conspiracy. Judge Motz previously sentenced Christian Devlon Gettis, a/k/a “Cutty Rock,” “C,” and “Chris,” age 39, of Baltimore, the leader of a heroin distribution organization, to 16 years in prison and sentenced co-defendant and heroin supplier Charles C. Guy, a/k/a “Captain,” “Beloved,” “B,” “Billy,” “Billy Guy,” “Gary Peterson,” and “Damon Lamont Hackett,” age 43, of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, to 17 years in prison after both pleaded guilty.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised FBI agents in Baltimore, Annapolis, and Washington, D.C.; the Baltimore Police Department; MdTA Police; the Annapolis Police Department; the Anne Arundel County Police Department; the Maryland State Police; FBI agents in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; the DEA; and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the searches and the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Ayn B. Ducao and Christopher J. Romano, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.