Jeanine Pirro Cracks Down on the New York-DC Drug Pipeline as 47-Year-Old Maryland Man Is Among the First to Fall

A Maryland man was sentenced in a multi-kilogram cocaine conspiracy, as U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro steps up her efforts to break up the dr*g trafficking pipeline between New York and Washington, D.C. The case is part of a larger federal effort to crack down on big-time narcotics operations that are bringing dangerous dr*gs into the nation’s capital, federal officials said.

Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced in a press release on Thursday, May 14, that Marcus Devonta Williams, 47, of Brookeville, Maryland, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy in which he imported large amounts of cocaine from New York into the Washington D.C. area.

The FBI found that Williams was the point person in the D.C. area for the conspiracy. The operation spread throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania in 2024. He took multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from his co-defendant, Daryl Smith-Winfree, from New York. Then he re-distributed it to resellers and individual buyers in the area, according to the news release.

44-year-old Smith-Winfree pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. He got 96 months in prison.

Williams was found guilty of conspiracy charges. Beyond his 70-month prison term, Williams must serve five years of supervised release. He must also pay $150,000 in money judgment.

“Today’s sentence reflects the serious harm caused by large-scale dr*g trafficking and demonstrates our commitment to holding accountable those who flood our communities with illegal narcotics,” Pirro said in a statement, according to the press release.

In August 2025, Pirro highlighted another major enforcement action in the District. Federal agents conducted a multistate operation targeting a dr*g trafficking ring. They seized large amounts of PCP and fentanyl along with multiple firearms.

The FBI’s Washington Field Office led the effort, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and D.C. police. Agents executed about 20 residential search warrants in D.C., Maryland, and Los Angeles. Over $50,000 in cash, 18 firearms and two kilograms of suspected narcotics, including cocaine, crack and powder fentanyl, were seized.

That August 2025 operation intercepted a 17-gallon PCP shipment outside Topeka, Kansas, and arrested 12 people across D.C., Maryland, and Los Angeles. Five additional defendants were arrested at the time on related charges, such as conspiracy to distribute narcotics, felon in possession of a firearm and illegal reentry into the U.S.

“This is what the President is talking about — this is part of cleaning up the district, and the nation’s capital,” Pirro said at the time, per Wtop News. “These arrests and the seizure of all these weapons indicate the seriousness of the crime that is occurring in our community.”