Maryland Man Pleads Guilty To Taking Part In Conspiracy To Distribute Cocaine In The Washington, D.C. AreaAlso Pleads Guilty To Federal Firearms Offense; Judge Sentences Him To Six-Year Prison Term

     WASHINGTON – Timon Otis Sandidge, 38, of Temple Hills, Md., pled guilty today to federal narcotics and firearms offenses for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of cocaine in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

     Sandidge pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. He also pled guilty to a related firearms offense. The Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan sentenced him to a six-year prison term, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The judge also ordered Sandidge to perform 100 hours of community service once he has completed his prison term.

     Sandidge is among more than two dozen people charged in 2012 in connection with an investigation by the FBI/Metropolitan Safe Streets Task Force into a network that distributed cocaine in the Washington, D.C. area. According to the government’s evidence, he and other defendants conspired to carry out the drug operation from September 2010 through March of 2012, when it was broken up by law enforcement. The network operated in the District of Columbia and Maryland.

     In his guilty plea, Sandidge admitted that, during the conspiracy, he purchased cocaine from a supplier on a regular basis. He accepted responsibility for at least two kilograms of cocaine powder, including amounts that he distributed and possessed with intent to distribute.

     On Feb. 24, 2012, law enforcement conducted a search at Sandidge’s residence in Maryland. Law enforcement recovered a semi-automatic pistol in a dresser drawer in the bedroom. Law enforcement also recovered $3,000 in a safe in the closet of Sandidge’s bedroom, along with cocaine and other evidence. Another $564 in cash was found in the bedroom.

     As part of his plea agreement, Sandidge agreed to the forfeiture of $3,564 and the gun.

     This prosecution grew out of a long-term FBI/MPD 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 initiative involves more than 150 Safe Streets Task Forces across 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.

     In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, and Chief Lanier thanked those who pursued the investigation from the FBI/MPD Safe Streets Task Force and other agencies. They expressed appreciation to the Prince George’s County, Md., Police Department, the U.S. Park Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Maryland State Police for their assistance in the investigation.

     They also acknowledged the efforts of those who have worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Rommel Pachoca, Regan Gibson, Starla Stolk, Kim Hall, Teesha Tobias, Mary Downing, Candace Battle, Catherine O’Neal, Jeannette Litz, Carolyn Carter-McKinley, and Crystal Barclay; Legal Assistants Latoya Wade, Candice Sisco, Diane Brashears, and Tammy Scott, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Zamarin and Thomas A. Gillice, who indicted and handled the majority of the investigation and case-related litigation.

     Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen J. Gripkey and John K. Han, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, who began trial preparation and handled plea negotiations, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zia Faruqui and Anthony Saler and Arvind Lal, of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.