A Prince George’s County, Maryland, man pleaded guilty Monday to charges of trafficking heroin and cocaine, as well as gun charges.
Charles Benjamin Stewart Jr., 46, of Upper Marlboro, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine; illegally transporting a firearm obtained out of state; and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, federal prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday.
The guilty plea is the latest development in the prosecution of a drug conspiracy, prosecutors said.
Stewart admitted buying heroin from Patrick Nathan Broxton, 50, of Ellicott City, and selling some of it to several other people. He also admitted buying cocaine from Stephen Eugene Clark Jr., 57, of Laurel, for resale.
Investigators followed Stewart during that time and saw him buy cocaine from Broxton, who worked at a drug rehabilitation facility, at a convenience store in Anne Arundel County, prosecutors said. They also tapped the phones of Stewart and others, recording conversations that showed Stewart knew the drugs he was selling were being resold by his customers to others.
In July 2017, law enforcement seized cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, guns and drug paraphernalia from Stewart’s two residences in Prince George’s County, the prosecutors said.
Several of Stewart’s customers, and his suppliers, have pleaded guilty in the conspiracy. Broxton was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison; Clark, to 19 months.
Stewart’s sentencing is scheduled for March. The prosecutors said in the statement that if the court accepts the plea arrangement, he’ll get a prison sentence of 8 to 14 years.
