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Felony Dealer Sentenced 60 Months
A District Heights, Maryland man was sentenced to 60 months in prison for distributing heroin and cocaine, and for his involvement in manufacturing untraceable ‘ghost guns’ from the basement of his home.
Keith Robert Marshall, 34, sold heroin at a cost of $2,800 per ounce; a typical user amount of heroin is less than a gram. Over the course of several months in 2019, Marshall sold multiple ounces of heroin, as well as some cocaine, to an undercover officer.
‘In addition to selling dangerous narcotics in our communities, the defendant was involved in buying, assembling, and selling ‘ghost guns’ that lack serial numbers,’ said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. ‘These unmarked and often untraceable firearms are frequently assembled from kits that are sold without background checks, making them more attractive to individuals who are prohibited from possessing them.’
The investigation into Marshall revealed that he had been frequenting a firearms store in Virginia. There, Marshall, a previously convicted felon, had been purchasing AR-15 pistol kits and Polymer 80 kits to make AR-15 pistols and Glock-style pistols. These kits are used to make guns without serial numbers and may be legally sold to anyone, regardless of whether they are prohibited from possessing firearms.
In December 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Marshall’s residence in Maryland. There, agents recovered a fully functional .40-caliber Polymer 80 Glock-style firearm with a 50-round magazine, as well as an AR-15 rifle. Agents also seized another five high-capacity magazines, various other gun magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition for both rifles and pistols.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the government’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Rumbaugh prosecuted the case. Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Peter Newsham, Chief of Prince William County Police; and Malik Aziz, Chief of Prince George’s County Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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