Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Billy Lorenzo Bush, age 38, of Capitol Heights, Maryland to seven years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Toni M. Cosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, on June 8, 2020, officers discovered Bush passed out and unresponsive in the driver’s seat of a vehicle that was involved in a single-vehicle accident.  Bush was the sole occupant in the vehicle.  Upon further inspection, officers saw baggies of marijuana spilling out of a backpack and a handgun on the front passenger seat.

After additional PGPD officers arrived on the scene, officers broke the driver’s side window to unlock the doors and remove Bush from the vehicle.  As a result of the search of Bush’s vehicle, officers recovered a .40 caliber handgun loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition, 1,100.80 grams of marijuana, digital scales, empty baggies, and 47.55 grams of a substance containing PCP.  Bush became responsive upon his removal from the vehicle and was subsequently taken into custody when they searched Bush incident to his arrest, officers found on his person 102.29 grams of a substance containing eutylone.

Bush agrees that he possessed the marijuana and eutylone and intended to distribute them to others.  Bush also agrees that he possessed the .40 caliber firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.

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.  PSN, an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime, is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  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 Erek L. Barron commended the ATF and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica C. Collins, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

# # #