Edwin Kerry Smith, 43, of Silver Spring, Maryland, is headed to federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing heroin that killed a man in 2019. Smith admitted he sold the fatal dose to Victim A, who overdosed shortly after ingesting the drug on August 22, 2019. The plea, entered in Greenbelt, Maryland, includes a confession that directly ties Smith’s actions to a preventable death.
Smith was arrested on March 11, 2021, while attempting to sell four ounces of heroin—this time while already under pretrial supervision for prior narcotics charges in Montgomery County Circuit Court. His continued involvement in drug distribution, even under court supervision, underscores a blatant disregard for the law and public safety. Federal authorities say the case reveals a pattern of predatory behavior.
On the night of the fatal overdose, Victim A’s last known act was sending a text to Smith to purchase narcotics. Cell site data confirms the two met that day in the same location where Victim A’s body was later discovered. At the scene, police recovered a ziplock bag containing 1.33 grams of heroin and a smaller bag with .34 grams of cocaine—both linked to Smith. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as morphine and quetiapine intoxication.
The case took a sharper turn when investigators linked Smith to a prior arrest just one month before the overdose. On July 22, 2019, he was apprehended near the same location with 21.02 grams of heroin. That incident had already flagged him as a high-level street trafficker, but it wasn’t until the overdose death that the full scope of his criminal reach came into focus.
As part of a binding plea agreement, Smith and federal prosecutors agreed to an eight-year prison sentence if the court accepts the deal. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for February 28, 2022, at 2 p.m. The agreement does not shield Smith from accountability—it forces him to face the consequences of putting lethal drugs directly into the hands of users.
U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron credited the DEA’s Washington Division, Montgomery County Police, Prince George’s County Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department for their relentless pursuit of justice. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin R. Cottingham is prosecuting the case, building a record that leaves no doubt: Smith’s heroin killed a man, and now he will pay for it behind bars.
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Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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