D.C. Man is Fifth Defendant to Admit Role in Conspiracy That Sold Drugs Near a School

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<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br &sol;>&NewLine; Wednesday&comma; July 5&comma; 2023<br &sol;>&NewLine; D&period;C&period; Man is Fifth Defendant to Admit Role in Conspiracy That Sold Drugs Near a School<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Group Ran Open-Air Operation Based on South Capitol Street<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p> WASHINGTON –The fifth of five defendants engaged in a drug trafficking conspiracy entered a guilty plea today in U&period;S&period; District Court in the District of Columbia&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> Kurtis Mathes&comma; 33&comma; of Washington&comma; D&period;C&comma; pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute marijuana&comma; acknowledging that the drug distribution transactions took place within 1&comma;000 feet of a school&period; A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov&period; 3&comma; 2023&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> The investigation focused on a drug trafficking organization that operated outside a gas station and within 1&comma;000 feet of a school on South Capitol Street&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> The plea was announced by U&period;S&period; Attorney Matthew M&period; Graves&comma; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Amon&comma; of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol&comma; Tobacco&comma; Firearms and Explosives &lpar;ATF&rpar;&comma; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget&comma; of the Washington Division of the U&period;S&period; Drug Enforcement Administration &lpar;DEA&rpar;&comma; and Interim Chief Ashan Benedict&comma; of the Metropolitan Police Department &lpar;MPD&rpar;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> Mathes was charged with Tayion Hamiel-Ward&comma; 25&comma; of Washington&comma; D&period;C&period;&semi; Karl Dunn&comma; 45&comma; of Suitland&semi; Brian Williams&comma; 27&comma; of Largo&comma; Maryland&semi; and DeShawn Barnes&comma; 28&comma; also of Washington&comma; D&period;C&period;&comma; all of whom have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> According to court documents&comma; the defendants were operating an open-air drug market near a gas station and tobacco store in the 4600 block of South Capitol Street S&period;W&period; Several shootings in that area&comma; dating back to at least March 2021&comma; sparked an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol&comma; Tobacco&comma; Firearms and Explosives&comma; in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police Department&comma; focusing on violent crime and drug trafficking activities near the Exxon Gas Station &lpar;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Exxon”&rpar; and the SC Discount Tobacco and Grocery Store &lpar;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Tobacco Store”&rpar;&comma; located at 4665 South Capitol Street SW and 4675 South Capitol Street SW&comma; Washington D&period;C&period;&comma; respectively&period; The Exxon and the Tobacco Store&comma; which are next to each other&comma; are located within 1&comma;000 feet of Ingenuity Prep Public Charter School&comma; a public charter school in the District of Columbia&period; Law Enforcement observed individuals loitering in front of and inside the Exxon and Tobacco Store and selling controlled substances to gas station customers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> Through the investigation&comma; Law Enforcement identified five defendants&comma; including Mathes&comma; as being involved in this drug trafficking operation&period; As part of the conspiracy&comma; Mathes and his co-defendants sold narcotics in a coordinated manner at various locations&period; Such coordination included the co-conspirators’ having common sources of supply&comma; re-supplying or helping each other fill orders for narcotics&comma; and referring customers to each other&period; Members of the conspiracy also possessed firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy&period; Law Enforcement executed controlled purchases of marijuana from members of this drug trafficking group&period; These purchases were recorded and monitored&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> On or around July 13&comma; 2022&comma; Law Enforcement executed a search warrant at Mathes’ residence&comma; where they found&colon; 3&comma;056 grams of marijuana&comma; assorted packing materials&comma; and ammunition&period; Over the course of the investigation&comma; law enforcement also recovered firearms&comma; magazines&comma; marijuana&comma; and more than &dollar;79&comma;000 in cash&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> The case is being investigated by the ATF’s Washington Field Division&comma; the DEA’s Washington Division&comma; and the Metropolitan Police Department&period; Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office&comma; the Prince George’s County&comma; Maryland Police Department&comma; and the U&period;S&period; Secret Service&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U&period;S&period; Attorney Sarah J&period; Rasalam of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section &lpar;VRTO&rpar;&period; Former Special Assistant U&period;S&period; Attorneys Allison McGuire and Brian Lynch previously worked on the case&period; Assistance was provided by the U&period;S&period; Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> Topic&lpar;s&rpar;&colon; Drug TraffickingComponent&lpar;s&rpar;&colon; <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;atf&period;gov&sol;" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">Bureau of Alcohol&comma; Tobacco&comma; Firearms and Explosives &lpar;ATF&rpar;<&sol;a><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;justice&period;gov&sol;dea&sol;index&period;shtml" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">Drug Enforcement Administration &lpar;DEA&rpar;<&sol;a><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fbi&period;gov&sol;" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">Federal Bureau of Investigation &lpar;FBI&rpar;<&sol;a><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;justice&period;gov&sol;usao-dc" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">USAO &&num;8211&semi; District of Columbia<&sol;a>Press Release Number&colon; 23-367 <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p> Updated July 5&comma; 2023<a href&equals;https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;justice&period;gov&sol;usao-dc&sol;pr&sol;dc-man-fifth-defendant-admit-role-conspiracy-sold-drugs-near-school> Original Article <&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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