DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Maryland

For Immediate Release

Monday, November 23, 2015
Rod J. Rosenstein
, United States Attorney
Contact: Vickie LeDuc or Marcia Murphy

Capitol Heights Man Exiled to Over 10 Years in Prison for Gun and Drug Offenses

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Reuben Benjamin Coleman, age 38, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, today to 130 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possessing a firearm in a school zone and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, on September 25, 2014, ATF Violent Crime Initiative Team agents and Prince George’s County police officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Capitol Heights where Coleman often stayed. They seized a 9 mm pistol from Coleman’s bedroom, and a small bag containing 8.28 grams of crack cocaine from a Mercedes Benz that Coleman drove and had parked outside the residence.

Coleman admitted that from August 15 to 16, 2014, he transported the pistol to the residence via public roads that he knew or had reasonable cause to believe were within 1,000 feet of a school zone.

Coleman also admitted that he is a career offender based on two prior drug convictions.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Joseph R. Baldwin, who prosecuted the case.

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Baltimore Field Division