WASHINGTON, DC — A Fairfax, Virginia man was sentenced in federal court in Washington on Tuedsay after pleading guilty in a cocaine distribution conspiracy case tied to the Potomac Gardens housing complex in Southeast D.C.
Lawrence Smith, 55, of Fairfax, Virginia, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly also ordered Smith to serve three years of supervised release. Smith pleaded guilty Jan. 9 to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.
The case stems from an FBI investigation that began in 2024 into drug trafficking at Potomac Gardens, according to court papers. Federal agents obtained authority to wiretap phones used by Ronald Hunt and Garrett Isley, who were identified in the release as alleged leaders of the conspiracy. Their cases are pending.
According to court papers, intercepted calls showed Smith regularly communicated with Isley and obtained narcotics from him on an almost every-other-day basis before redistributing them to others. In his plea agreement, Smith admitted responsibility for distributing between 200 and 300 grams of cocaine. The government had asked the court to impose a 15-month sentence.
Pirro said the prosecution followed a long-term federal wiretap investigation. “Lawrence Smith was a regular participant in a drug operation that fed narcotics into a District of Columbia neighborhood in Southeast,” Pirro said. “This prosecution was the product of a long-term federal wiretap investigation which dismantled this conspiracy that was poisoning the Potomac Gardens community. Today’s sentence reflects our commitment to pursuing every link in that chain.”
The broader case remains active. Co-defendant Maurice Tutt was sentenced March 13 to 10 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. Co-defendant Michael Augment pleaded guilty March 4 to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and his sentencing is pending.
The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office with assistance from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, D.C. Housing Authority Police, Virginia State Police, Montgomery County Police and Fairfax County Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Solomon S. Eppel and Nihar Mohanty.
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