U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Tirrel Saunders, a/k/a “Pretty”, age 35, of Baltimore, Maryland to 15 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Saunders was a member of the Gregory Butler Drug Trafficking Organization (“Butler DTO”) which distributed heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
According to his guilty plea, from October 2018 to April 2019, FBI investigators intercepted phone communications of the Butler DTO that operated in and around the Baltimore area, arranging heroin, crack cocaine, and fentanyl sales to drug users and redistributors from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The Butler DTO sold thousands of dollars in narcotics daily and frequently sold over 100 grams of heroin mixed with fentanyl on a daily basis. Customers of the Butler DTO believed they were purchasing heroin; however, the Butler DTO adulterated all heroin it sold with fentanyl.
As stated in his plea agreement, Saunders was identified as a Butler DTO supervisor, which involved managing the daily supplies of narcotics and the collection of drug proceeds from distributors. FBI investigators intercepted communications of Saunders regularly arranging the resupply of heroin and crack cocaine to co-conspirators who would then sell those narcotics to customers. Saunders also communicated with Butler DTO leadership and acted as a liaison between Butler DTO leadership and street-level distributors.
Saunders agreed that over the course of the conspiracy, he distributed over one kilogram of heroin to street-level distributors.