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Cheverly resident Deante Mandel Duckett, 37, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release on various weapons charges following his previous guilty plea.
Between March 2019 and April 2019, although Duckett was not a licensed firearms dealer, he engaged in the business of selling firearms, prosecutors said, during which he traveled outside of Maryland to acquire guns that he transported back to the state with the intent to sell them.
On multiple occasions between March 6 and April 11, 2019, Duckett met with a confidential source and sold the investigator multiple weapons, officials said.
Specifically, on March 6, Duckett sold the undercover agent a .38 Special caliber revolver for $400, telling the source that he had obtained the gun in Atlanta and brought it back to Maryland.
On April 2, Duckett sold the confidential informant a 380 cc semi-automatic pistol, a .22 caliber revolver, and a .32 caliber revolver in exchange for $1,200. During the exchange, Duckett stated to the confidential informant, “See, I go down south, man,” officials said.
Finally, on April 11, 2019, Duckett provided the source with one 12-gauge shotgun, a .32 caliber revolver, and one.32 caliber semi-automatic pistol loaded with seven rounds of ammunition.
Duckett again admitted that he transported the firearms from outside Maryland prior to their recovery.
The investigation led to Duckett sending the confidential source a message in April 2019 asking for a phone call. During which, Duckett advised investigators that he was planning to bring 10 to 15 guns into Maryland from “down yonder.”
Duckett elaborated that “somebody just did something, so they putting a couple more out here on the streets, so everybody trying to get rid of what they got . . . .”
He was arrested before the deal could go down.
Officials said that in total, Duckett sold seven firearms to the confidential source, transporting the firearms from outside the state of Maryland for the purpose of engaging in the business of firearms trafficking.
Duckett made the transactions after having sustained a felony drug conviction in Charles County in 2014 and an armed robbery conviction in 2009. As a convicted felon, Duckett was prohibited from possessing guns or ammunition.
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