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Daniel Jahleel Thomas - also known as "DanDue" - was sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug distribution and weapon charges after pleading guilty in April last year.
According to court documents, Thomas, who posted rap videos under his "DanDue" alias on YouTube, advertised marijuana and oxycodone for sale on his social media accounts, while posting pictures of himself holding weapons, including fully-automatic machine guns.
On Feb. 25, Metropolitan Police Officers saw Thomas’ Instagram story advertising that he had marijuana for sale at the Fort Chaplin Park Apartments in Northeast DC, and knew that he had a court-ordered stay-away from the complex as a condition of a prior gun arrest.
The officers found Thomas standing outside the apartments and, as they approached him, Thomas jumped into the back seat of a parked vehicle.
When officers ordered Thomas out of the vehicle to speak with him about the stay-away order, officials say he resisted and pulled away.
During the subsequent struggle, officers discovered a loaded Glock Model 19 9mm handgun in his waistband with 14 rounds in the magazine.
The handgun was also fitted with a “giggle switch,” which made it capable of fully automatic fire, investigators noted.
After placing Thomas under arrest, officers recovered a duffel bag from inside the vehicle and subsequently recovered four one-pound bags of marijuana as well as 81 pills, each of which contained 30mg of oxycodone.
At the time of his arrest, Thomas was under investigation by the FBI for federal drug and weapon offenses.
"Five days before his arrest, Thomas exchanged text messages with a co-conspirator about Thomas’ plan to carry out a drive-by shooting in retaliation for a perceived slight," officials added.
The 22-year-old admitted to conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, as well as a detectable amount of oxycodone, unlawful possession of a machine gun, and using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during, in relation to, and in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Following his prison sentence, a judge also ordered that Thomas serve four years of supervised release.
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