BLADENSBURG ARMED CAREER CRIMINAL EXILED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR POSSESSING A GUN

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr., sentenced Garrett L. Farmer, age 30, of Bladensburg, Maryland, today to 15 years in prison followed by two years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Farmer is an armed career criminal based on three previous felony convictions.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Steven L. Gerido of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Brisolari of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division.

According to Farmer’s plea agreement, on May 8, 2009, Farmer was arrested in the parking lot of his apartment building in Bladensburg, and a search warrant was executed at his apartment. Officers recovered a 9 mm pistol, loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition, including one in the chamber, located inside the bedroom closet; white powder drug residue on a plate, in close proximity to the firearm in the closet, along with a knife and razor; white powder drug residue and a razor, located on a plate on the bedroom night stand, next to numerous small, unused, plastic baggies; loose marijuana on top of a shoe box in the bedroom, which contained a number of small, unused, plastic baggies; and $7,755 cash located in the freezer.

Farmer had previously been convicted of attempted distribution of cocaine, attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and attempted robbery, and was prohibited from possessing a gun.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF and DEA for their work in this investigation and expressed his appreciation to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Glatfelter and Cheryl L. Crumpton, who prosecuted the case.