Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Baltimore, Maryland – William Diggs, age 30, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute, possession with the intent to distribute, and the distribution of cocaine base.

The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division.

According to his guilty plea, from December 2019 to September 2020, Diggs conspired with others to possess and distribute cocaine base in the area of the 2600 block of Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland. As a member of a drug trafficking organization (“DTO”), Diggs sold cocaine base, including to two individuals who happened to be confidential informants for law enforcement.

Over the course of four drug transactions, Diggs sold 42 vials of cocaine base as well as an eighth of an ounce of cocaine base to an ATF confidential informant. Additionally, during one drug transaction, the confidential informant asked Diggs if they could purchase a firearm. Diggs told the informant they could purchase a firearm for $200 when he gained possession of the firearm, although he ultimately did not proceed with the firearm transaction.

As stated in his plea agreement, a second confidential informant observed Diggs and two co-conspirators in a Baltimore rowhouse where the confidential informant observed several firearms. Diggs later admitted the firearms were possessed in furtherance of the drug conspiracy.

The Baltimore City Police Department’s Drug Analysis Unit confirmed that the substances sold by Diggs to the confidential informants contained the presence of cocaine base.

This case is 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.

Diggs and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Diggs will be sentenced to 42 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has not scheduled a sentencing hearing at this time.

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Stendig, Lindsey N. McCulley and Special Assistant United States Attorney Lindsay DeFrancesco, who are prosecuting the case.