Two Maryland Residents Admit to Drug Trafficking in the Eastern Panhandle (DOJ)

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Two Maryland residents have admitted to selling illegal narcotics in Berkeley County, West Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

Terrell Antonio Henderson, 34, of Halethorpe, Maryland, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine base. According to court records and his plea agreement, Henderson conspired with others to traffic drugs from Baltimore to the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The investigation culminated in a controlled buy at a parking lot in Spring Mills, where law enforcement witnessed the transaction. A subsequent search of Henderson's vehicle uncovered the buy money, additional drugs, and various drug paraphernalia.

In a separate matter, 31-year-old Elisa Owens of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. Owens acted as a distributor for a trafficking ring operating between Hagerstown and Berkeley County, West Virginia. Following a period of surveillance, officers conducted a traffic stop and a probable cause search of her vehicle, which resulted in the seizure of cocaine.

Henderson and Owens each face up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the cases on behalf of the government.

Investigative agencies include the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hagerstown, Maryland; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Maryland State Police; the Hagerstown Police Department; and the Washington County (MD) Sheriff's Office.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.