Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Baltimore Cocaine Dealer Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison
Punched a Police Officer and Possessed a Loaded Gun at the Time of His Arrest
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Antoine Coles, age 33, of Baltimore, yesterday to 10 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after Coles pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
The guilty plea and sentence were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to Coles’ plea agreement, on September 25, 2019, Baltimore Police officers on patrol in the 2100 block of West Lexington Street in Southwest Baltimore approached a group of men who were running a power line out of a vacant home. Coles was sitting on a stoop nearby holding a marijuana blunt. When an officer approached him to conduct a pat down, Coles stood up, clenched his right hand in a fist around his cell phone, and punched the officer in his jaw.
As detailed in his plea agreement, immediately after striking the officer, Coles ran away, dropping a spare magazine as he fled. Coles was quickly apprehended by other officers. While attempting to arrest Coles, detectives recovered a handgun from Coles’ waistband, loaded with 12 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition, including a round in the chamber. A search of Coles after his arrest recovered 11 blue-top vials, each containing cocaine. Coles admitted that he intended to distribute the cocaine.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the ATF and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Goldsticker, who prosecuted the case.
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