Three Men Sentenced to Prison Terms for Taking Part in Drug Organization
Defendants Admit Roles in Organization That Distributed PCP, Other Drugs

WASHINGTON—Three members of a criminal enterprise that distributed PCP, heroin, and other drugs in the District of Columbia and Maryland were sentenced today to prison terms after earlier pleading guilty to federal charges, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

Charles Wade, Herman Williams, and Robert McMillan were among a group of defendants indicted last year on federal charges. They pled guilty in March 2011 to a charge of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise. They were sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer.

Wade, 26, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Williams, 20, also of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to a 9 ½-year term. McMillan, 31, of Camp Springs, Maryland, was sentenced to 7 ½ years of incarceration. Following completion of their prison terms, Wade and Williams will be placed on five years of supervised release, and McMillan will be placed on three years of supervised release.

A fourth defendant, Robert Smith, 32, of Washington, D.C., also has pled guilty to his role in the narcotics organization, and his matter is to be scheduled for sentencing at a later date.

According to the government’s evidence, the men were part of a drug organization that operated in Barry Farm and other neighborhoods within the District of Columbia and the larger metropolitan area. Members of the organization distributed PCP, heroin, crack cocaine and cocaine. Wade brokered drug transactions on behalf of the enterprise. Williams was a narcotics re-distributor, and McMillan distributed crack cocaine. Smith was a PCP distributor.

The defendants initially were indicted in March 2010 in a case that covered criminal activities from August 2009 through March 2010. In September 2010, they were named in a superseding indictment that covered those crimes as well as additional crimes dating to 2006.

The superseding indictment alleges that the drug ring’s alleged leader, Mark Pray, enlisted family members, friends and others, including Wade, Williams, and McMillan, to distribute controlled substances. The indictment alleges that members of the organization regularly carried firearms to promote and protect the drug enterprise and its interests; that members of the enterprise committed, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence, including murder and robbery, to protect and expand the enterprise’s criminal operations, and that members of the enterprise promoted a climate of fear through violence and threats of violence.

The superseding indictment also charges Pray, 30, and two co-defendants, Alonzo Marlow, 31, and Kenneth Benbow, 31, for their respective roles in three separate murders committed in aid of the charged racketeering activity, in the District of Columbia and Maryland, between 2008 and 2010. A trial is scheduled for Pray, Marlow, Benbow and co-defendants Timothy Moon, 24, and Randolph Danson, 26, on January 9, 2012, arising from the charges in the indictment. All five of the men have pled not guilty to all charges.

This prosecution grew out of a long-term FBI/MPD/USPP alliance called the Safe Streets Task Force that targets violent drug trafficking gangs in the District of Columbia. The Safe Streets Initiative is funded in part by the Baltimore Washington High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area as well as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The Safe Streets Initiative involves more than 150 Safe Streets Task Forces around the country that combat street gangs by combining federal, state and local police resources. The task forces, which began in 1992 in Los Angeles and the District of Columbia, address gang activity including drug-related crimes. Sharing resources, manpower and intelligence allows federal prosecutors to focus on securing the maximum sentences and penalties for gang members found guilty. By working through a task force, investigators can focus on the entire criminal enterprise.

In announcing the sentencings, U.S. Attorney Machen thanked those who are working on the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Park Police, and the Prince George’s County Police Department. He also commended the efforts of those who are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Scarpelli and Matthew P. Cohen.