LA Dank DMV Crew Members Get Life in Prison

WASHINGTON – Two members of the LA Dank DMV Crew have been sentenced for their roles in a sophisticated marijuana distribution conspiracy in the DMV area.

Avery Bost, 29, of Brandywine, MD, was sentenced to 37 months in prison, while Joe Blyther, 29, of Bowie, MD, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Bost pleaded guilty on October 27, 2023, to Conspiracy to Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, while Blyther pleaded guilty on November 8, 2023, to Conspiracy to Distribute, and Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana; Using, Carrying, and Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense; Possession of a Machine Gun; and Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Felon.

The sentences were handed down by Judge Kollar-Kotelly, who also ordered both Bost and Blyther to serve three years of supervised release. Eight other co-defendants have pleaded guilty to various drug trafficking and/or firearms counts, including Abubakr Banire, Kavon Duncan, Christopher Akinduro, Isaac Akinduro, Omar Butler, and Randall Lance.

Christopher Akinduro was sentenced to 74 months, Isaac Akinduro was sentenced to 41 months, Duncan was sentenced to 71 months, Butler was sentenced to 18 months, and Lance was sentenced 63 months. Banire, the leader of the LA Dank crew, is awaiting sentencing on June 24, 2024.

The guilty pleas and sentences follow a lengthy investigation led by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Between May 2021 and December 2021, crew members operated a sophisticated conspiracy to traffic large amounts of high-grade marijuana from California to the DMV area for distribution to customers.

As part of their distribution scheme, members of the crew relied heavily on mass marketing through three dedicated LA Dank websites, as well as social media platforms like Instagram where individual crew members would advertise the LA Dank brand and LA Dank branded marijuana for sale. Crew members also used rental properties to set up stash houses or points of sale that were used to conduct drug distribution operations for a short period of time before moving on to different locations.

The crew is known for possessing numerous firearms, including semi-automatic and fully automatic machine guns, and devices used to convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic machine guns. Certain members of the crew also pleaded guilty to the possession of firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking operations.

In total, approximately 122 pounds of marijuana, 19 firearms, and 10 machine gun conversion devices were recovered. Three of these nineteen firearms were discovered to be operational machine guns that had been modified with machine gun conversion devices. Seven of these machine gun conversion devices were found in an “LA Dank” branded bag. Two of these firearms were privately made AR-pistol style machine guns, sometimes referred to as “ghost guns.”

Blyther specifically pleaded guilty to one of the pistols equipped with a machine gun conversion device. Ledgers and receipts show that the crew trafficked well over 100 kilograms of marijuana into the DMV area for distribution.