Illegal Alien, a Convicted Cocaine Dealer Previously Deported Five Times, Sentenced to 122 Months

WASHINGTON -- Damion Alexander Peddie, 54, a Jamaican citizen who previously had been convicted of multiple drug trafficking offenses and removed from the United States on at least five prior occasions, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 122 months in federal prison in connection with possessing a cache of weapons and narcotics and for illegally re-entering the country, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Peddie pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2025, before Judge Timothy J. Kelly to a three-count information charging him with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, alien in possession of a firearm, and unlawful re-entry of a previously removed alien. In addition to the 122-month prison term, Judge Kelly ordered Peddie to serve three years of supervised release and to comply with any order of deportation.

"Damion Peddie showed a complete disregard for our laws and our borders-deported five times, yet he chose to come back and arm himself with a cache of weapons and narcotics. A previously convicted drug trafficker, he continued to put American communities at risk," said U.S. Attorney Pirro. "This career criminal illegal alien is exactly the type of offender the Trump administration is working tirelessly to remove from our country-after serving his sentence, he will be deported."

According to court documents, in the Summer of 2024, FBI agents initiated a long-term investigation of a drug trafficking conspiracy centered around the 2900 block of Knox Place, SE. Law enforcement had identified an alleged fentanyl and PCP trafficker with a stash house in the 2900 block of Knox Place. Over the course of their investigation into the trafficker's narcotics suppliers, investigating agents determined that Peddie was conspiring with members of the drug trafficking operation (DTO) in the redistribution of fentanyl, amongst other narcotics.

On August 26, 2025, FBI agents executed a search warrant at a home in the 400 block of Taylor Street NW as part of a coordinated arrest and search warrant operation in connection with the Knox Place DTO investigation. Agents encountered Peddie walking down the stairs from the second floor of the residence.

In Peddie's bedroom, agents found a ghost gun, a privately manufactured black 9mm Polymer 80 pistol bearing no serial number and untraceable by law enforcement, along with a .22 caliber handgun. Agents also recovered about seven pounds of marijuana, along with distribution quantities of fentanyl and crack cocaine.

On the first floor of the home, agents found an H&R .32 caliber revolver, an AR-style ghost gun, six ammunition magazines, assorted rounds of ammunition, and a High Point 9mm carbine rifle.

This criminal case marks Peddie's fifth federal conviction for unlawful re-entry of a previously removed alien. He previously had been convicted of the same offense in the District of Maryland in January 1996, and in the District of Columbia in May 2004, October 2010, and October 2013.

Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement was FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office.

This case was prosecuted under the auspices of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) network, which is directed under President Trump's Executive Order titled Protecting the American People Against Invasion.

The mission of the HSTF network is to end the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs and transnational criminal organizations, and to ensure the use of all available law enforcement tools to faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, with assistance from the DEA Washington, and the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey, John Crabb, and Sarah Akhtar of the Violence Reduction and Narcotics Trafficking Section. Valuable assistance was provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sitara Witanachchi and John Parron.

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