Catonsville Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Federal Prison

CATONSVILLE, MD — Rasheed Mickens, 35, of Catonsville has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Mickens had prior criminal convictions that include a 2006 carjacking conviction and a 2011 conviction for possession with intent to distribute narcotics.

According to his plea agreement, while conducting undercover surveillance at a Baltimore motel on July 8, 2020, the Baltimore County Police Department Vice Narcotics Special Enforcement Team observed a suspicious interaction between two men. One man was the passenger in a sedan and the other man arrived driving a pickup truck.

After the interaction concluded, law enforcement followed the sedan on I-695 driven by a woman with the male passenger. Officers observed the man hand the female driver an item while she was driving. Officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and recovered a total of 48 capsules containing white powder from the man and woman. An additional bag containing 50 capsules were discovered in the vehicle. The man told law enforcement that they purchased a total of 100 capsules of fentanyl for $300. Two of the fentanyl capsules were consumed while driving. The male suspect also informed law enforcement that he purchased the drugs from a man named “Mike” at the Baltimore motel. Lab results confirmed that the powder contained in the remaining 98 capsules was fentanyl.

As stated in the plea agreement, detectives returned to the Baltimore motel to locate the suspect known as “Mike.” The man law enforcement observed in the hand-to-hand transaction was seen leaving a motel room carrying a backpack and several bags to the pickup truck seen earlier that day. As detectives approached and identified themselves to the man, he fled on foot. He was later captured and identified as Mickens.

After being advised of his Miranda rights, Mickens told law enforcement that there were drugs in his truck. Law enforcement recovered 213 capsules of fentanyl, 96 grams of fentanyl, one pound of marijuana, 44 individual baggies of marijuana, 35 mannite bars, a bag labeled “10,000” capsules containing several unused capsules, a loaded 9mm pistol, and three flip phones from the pickup truck. Additional white powder capsules and other drug paraphernalia was recovered from Mickens’s backpack.

Mickens agreed that the controlled substances recovered included more than 40 grams of fentanyl and that the quantity of controlled substances was a sufficient quantity to indicate an intent to distribute. Mickens also agrees that the firearm located in the vehicle was possessed in furtherance of his drug trafficking crimes.