Oxon Hill Heroin Dealer Sentenced to Over 15 Years in Prison
Commuted to New York by Train to Obtain Drugs

GREENBELT, MD—U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Ronnie Rogers, age 54, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, today to 186 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to his guilty plea, between at least May 2007 and September 2008, Rogers obtained heroin from a source in the Dominican Republic, whom he had met while he was incarcerated in New Jersey. Rogers telephoned the source to negotiate the quantity and price of the heroin, then traveled to New York where he met the source’s couriers. Rogers brought the heroin back to Maryland and Washington D.C. where he cut and distributed the heroin to his dealers, who redistributed the heroin on the streets of Washington, D.C. and Prince George’s County, Maryland. Rogers used wire transfers to make payments to the source in the Dominican Republic.

On September 4, 2008, Rogers was arrested in Maryland on an outstanding warrant as he was traveling on a train from New York City to Washington D.C. Approximately 141.7 grams of heroin were recovered from his bag. An additional 482.8 grams of heroin, two handguns (one of which was fully loaded), boxes of ammunition and a gun magazine were seized from his residence. Officers also located drug paraphernalia such as: cutting agents quinine, mannitol, and caffeine; ziplock baggies; small black rubber bands used to combine smaller baggies into a larger one called a “ten-pack”; shifters; razor blades; two scales; and measuring spoons.

Rogers admitted that he made at least 15 train trips between New York City and the Washington D.C. metropolitan area between January 4 and August 11, 2008, obtaining between 100 and 200 grams of heroin on each trip. Rogers is responsible for the distribution of between one and three kilograms of heroin during his participation in the conspiracy.

Rogers had previously been arrested on May 2, 2007, after Prince George’s County Police officers recovered a digital scale and 102.2 grams of heroin packaged for distribution from his car during a traffic stop.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their investigative work in this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorney Deborah A. Johnston, who prosecuted the case.