Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty to Distributing Narcotics in Northwest Washington and Maryland Guilty Plea Results in Fourth Drug Trafficking Conviction

            WASHINGTON – Dontae Robey, 36, of Landover, Md., pled guilty today to trafficking in heroin, crack, and powder cocaine in the Shaw area of Northwest Washington and Maryland, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Robey pled guilty before the Honorable Timothy J. Kelly in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of unlawful possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. The plea agreement, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for a sentence of eight years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. Judge Kelly scheduled sentencing for Dec. 11, 2018.

            As part of his plea agreement, Robey took responsibility for 110 grams of heroin, 67 grams of crack cocaine, and three grams of cocaine that were present in a silver Infiniti that Robey was operating on Nov. 19, 2017, following a traffic stop performed by members of MPD’s Narcotics and Special Investigations Division’s Criminal Interdiction Unit.

            Additionally, on May 2, 2018, members of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force and MPD’s Third District Crime Suppression Team arrested Robey in the 700 block of S Street NW pursuant to an arrest warrant. Officers recovered a Lexus key on Robey’s person and a large amount of cash. A half-block away, law enforcement located a blue Lexus ES 350. Inside the vehicle, law enforcement recovered approximately 40 grams of heroin located in a small storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel. As part of his plea agreement, Robey admitted to possessing the narcotics inside the Lexus, and acknowledged that he maintained a residence in Landover, where he packaged quantities of narcotics for distribution and then distributed those narcotics in the District of Columbia.

            Robey has three prior drug trafficking convictions related to offenses in the same location where he was arrested on May 2, 2018, all resulting from his possession of packaged narcotics in the neighborhood. In 2001, he was convicted of trafficking narcotics following his possession of 29 individually packaged ziplocs of crack cocaine. In 2002, he was convicted of trafficking narcotics after he was found in possession of 83 individually packaged ziplocs of crack cocaine. In 2008, he was convicted of attempting to distribute crack cocaine to an undercover officer.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD.  They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Candace Battle and Jeannette Litz, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Crane, who assisted with the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Macchiaroli and David Misler, who prosecuted the case.