Azeik Keys, Cocaine Trafficking, D.C. 2024

Azeik Keys, 39, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, following a federal raid that uncovered a loaded handgun, nearly $1,400 in cash, and a stash of drugs locked inside a safe in his Southeast D.C. bedroom. The arrest came after a years-long pattern of deception involving his status as a convicted sex offender — a lie that finally unraveled under the scrutiny of U.S. Marshals.

On April 17, 2015, Deputy U.S. Marshals William Straw, Justin Bankert, and Jesse Miller tracked Keys to an apartment in Southeast Washington, where he had been living despite registering his parents’ Northeast D.C. address as his own since 2014. When marshals entered the bedroom where Keys was apprehended, they spotted marijuana and drug packaging materials in plain view. A warrant was swiftly obtained, leading to the discovery of a loaded handgun and cocaine inside a dresser safe, along with a second loaded firearm stashed elsewhere in the room.

Keys, previously convicted in 2004 of first-degree sex abuse and sentenced to six years in prison, was legally required to register as a sex offender for life. He failed to do so in 2013, briefly complied in 2014, then resumed submitting false information between November 2014 and April 2015. That fraud triggered the U.S. Marshals Service investigation in January 2015, which ultimately exposed not only his location but also his narcotics operation.

In September 2016, Keys was convicted in D.C. Superior Court on charges of failing to register as a sex offender and felony threats, earning a six-year prison sentence. Now, the federal narcotics charge adds another layer to his criminal reckoning. He faces 46 to 57 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, with a statutory maximum of 20 years. His sentencing is scheduled for March 1, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan.

As part of his plea agreement, Keys has agreed to forfeit $1,370 — the exact amount seized from the safe during the search. Federal authorities, including the DEA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, assisted in building the case. Paralegal Specialist Catherine O’Neal and Legal Assistant Peter Gaboton, both from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, played key support roles.

U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and U.S. Marshal Michael Hughes praised the persistence of the marshals who cracked the case, calling it a clear example of how fugitive investigations can uncover broader criminal activity. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamila Hodge is prosecuting the federal narcotics charge. Keys now awaits sentencing, already behind bars on prior convictions — a grim echo of a pattern federal prosecutors say they’re determined to break.