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Montgomery County resident Darryl Colton Frazer, 34, was convicted following a three-day trial on charges that include participating in a drug conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the Department of Justice.
In July 2019, prosecutors say that Montgomery County Police Department officers investigating a shooting approached Frazer and co-conspirator Shamire Moore, who matched the description of a person wanted in connection to the shooting incident.
When the officers approached, Frazer and Moore proceeded to flee to a nearby residential neighborhood and they were ultimately tracked down at a nearby apartment building in Montgomery County.
At trial, witnesses testified that Frazer was ordered to stop and drop a black bag that he was carrying.
Instead, Frazer threw the black bag from the stairwell and away from himself, which was quickly recovered by investigators, who arrested Frazer at the scene.
Further investigation of the bag led to the discovery of a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol, 103 grams of marijuana packaged into four separate plastic bags, a digital scale, and latex gloves.
Investigators noted that when he was apprehended, Frazer was out on supervised release for a previous federal conviction, which also prohibited him from possessing weapons or ammunition.
Moore pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 31 to possession with intent to distribute marijuana and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to his plea agreement, officials say that officers found Moore lying on the ground in a nearby wooded area on the night of the incident.
They ordered Moore to stand up and surrender, but instead, he scaled a fence and jumped onto an adjacent government property. He was eventually caught and taken into custody following a brief struggle.
Prosecutors said that a second black bag that Moore was carrying contained a loaded .38 caliber revolver, 106 grams of marijuana packaged into four separate plastic bags inside a larger Ziploc bag, and a digital scale, among other items.
During a search of Moore, law enforcement also recovered $579 in cash, which represented proceeds of his drug trafficking.
Moore later admitted that he possessed the marijuana with intent to distribute it and that the firearm was to further his drug trafficking efforts “since it was intended, at least in part, to defend his drug inventory and drug proceeds.”
When he is sentenced, Frazer faces up to 20 years in federal prison for his conviction on charges of participating in a drug conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Separately, Frazer will be facing a maximum of two years in prison for violation of his supervised release in his previous federal case.
Moore is expected to be sentenced to between five and six years in prison under his guilty plea.
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