Two Baltimore Drug Traffickers Sentenced to Over 9 ½ Years in Federal Prison

Defendants Were Part of Two Separate Drug Distribution Organizations and Both Used Guns to Facilitate their Drug Dealing

Baltimore, Maryland – On March 25, 2019, Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced James Hair, a/k/a “Mook,” age 28, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 117 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least two kilograms of cocaine.

In another case yesterday, U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Stancil McNair, age 22, of Baltimore, Maryland to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute heroin, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and fentanyl.

The sentences were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Baltimore District Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

“Drug traffickers must know that gun crime will lead to federal time, which has no parole - ever,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to remove those who would commit violence from our community.”

According to Hair’s guilty plea, between late 2016 and early 2017, Hair was captured on federal wiretaps discussing drug trafficking with a heroin distributor, who was also a member of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang.  On February 5, 2017, the FBI seized a cell phone belonging to an associate of Hair’s.  The phone contained text messages in which Hair and his associate discussed a plan to rob and kill Hair’s cocaine supplier.  Also on February 5, 2017, Hair was heard on a recorded jail call telling an inmate that he had provided a firearm to a mutual friend of theirs because the friend had gotten into a fight with someone.  In early to mid-March 2017, Hair was intercepted on several calls discussing getting revenge for the murder of one of his friends, and retrieving several firearms that the murdered friend had been keeping.  Hair admitted that he knew that the conspiracy distributed between two kilograms and 3.5 kilograms of cocaine.

According to McNair’s plea agreement, from at least May 2017 through September 19, 2017, McNair was a manager in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that operated in and around 1100 North Montford Avenue in Baltimore, distributing heroin, fentanyl, and powder and crack cocaine.  As one of the managers, McNair was responsible for managing a portion of the daily supply of narcotics for the organization by providing bags of heroin to other street-level distributors drug shops operated by the DTO and taking custody of the drug proceeds from the distributors.  Between May 5 and July 12, 2017, McNair also sold a total of 115 vials of crack cocaine, 21 bags of crack cocaine, and 70 gel caps of heroin to an undercover ATF special agent.  McNair also possessed a firearm throughout the time of the conspiracy, to serve as protection against rivals who would try to steal drugs, drug proceeds, or drug territory.  On September 8, 2017, a co-conspirator called McNair and told him to bring the co-conspirator a pistol.  McNair immediately took his pistol to the co-conspirator to use.  The co-conspirator subsequently returned the gun to McNair.  On September 18, 2017, ATF agents watched McNair leave his house to go the drug shop and saw McNair reach for his waistband and grab at an object they believed to a gun.  McNair was arrested and agents recovered a loaded 9mm pistol from McNair.

These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the Hair case and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina A. Hoffman and Peter J. Martinez, who prosecuted the case.  U.S. Attorney Hur commended the ATF, the DEA, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the McNair case.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew DellaBetta and Michael C. Hanlon, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.