Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — An Alexandria man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

According to court documents, Carrington Hammond, 29, worked with Arizona-based suppliers and local redistributors to sell kilogram-level quantities of fentanyl in the Eastern District of Virginia. Hammond’s co-conspirators mailed packages across the country to Hammond containing tens of thousands of counterfeit pills. The pills had the appearance of pharmaceutical oxycodone but instead were laced with fentanyl. Law enforcement identified one such package containing 50,000 fentanyl-laced pills. Hammond also trafficked fentanyl in powder form, as well as cocaine.

In addition to drug trafficking, Hammond sold multiple firearms during the conspiracy. Law enforcement recovered three firearms that Hammond sold to a local drug redistributor, including a “ghost” gun. A ghost gun is a firearm that is not marked with a serial number and is often made using a 3-D printer, so there is no way to track its origins or owners.

On Aug. 10, 2023, law enforcement searched an Alexandria apartment unit of Hammond and several of his co-conspirators, from which they sold their drugs and firearms. During the search of the two-bedroom apartment, law enforcement seized over five kilograms of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, over two kilograms of fentanyl powder, over one kilogram of cocaine, 2.5 kilograms of marijuana and two firearms. One firearm was hidden under a couch cushion, and the other was a semi-automatic weapon kept loaded next to a safe containing a kilogram of fentanyl.

Hammond had been prosecuted multiple times at the state level for drug and firearm-related offenses, as well as violent crimes. Three of his charged co-conspirators are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Washington Field Division; Ajay D. Lall, Acting Inspector in Charge for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division; Don Hayes, Alexandria Chief of Police; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather D. Call and Kristin S. Starr prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the U.S. by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Assistance was provided by the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force.

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