WASHINGTON — Derek Gaines, 37, of Severn, Maryland, was sentenced yesterday to 65 months in federal prison for selling thousands of fentanyl pills and cocaine to a confidential informant (CI) working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich also ordered Gaines to serve four years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
The sentencing announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood, and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith.
Gaines had pleaded guilty on December 5, 2024, to the unlawful distribution of 40 or more grams of fentanyl. According to court documents, Gaines conducted multiple drug transactions with the confidential informant between April and July 2024.
In one of the exchanges, on April 4, 2024, Gaines met with the CI on the 1600 block of Maryland Avenue NE. The CI, provided with $5,000 by law enforcement, received 55.78 grams of cocaine and 502 fentanyl pills (weighing 59.2 grams) from Gaines in exchange for $4,000. Later transactions included similar exchanges of cocaine and fentanyl pills, leading to his arrest on August 29, 2024.
The investigation was conducted by the ATF with assistance from the DEA and resulted in the seizure of over 700 grams of fentanyl and cocaine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole prosecuted the case.
