Interstate Drug Trafficking Conspirator Enters Guilty Plea

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA -Malachi Brian Maurice Younger, 23, of Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and fentanyl.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Younger was involved in a conspiracy to distribute illicit drugs in Berkeley County, West Virginia. On March 28, 2024, law enforcement seized large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana, along with packaging materials, a digital scale, razor blades, and cash, from a stolen Jeep operated by Younger. In the following months, investigators repeatedly observed Younger engaging in hand-to-hand drug transactions in Maryland and West Virginia, often using a stolen black Jaguar SUV. On July 27, 2024, Younger fled from Pennsylvania State Police in the same Jaguar and was found in possession of additional fentanyl mixtures, oxycodone, drug paraphernalia, and cash.

Younger will be sentenced for his conviction at a later date.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

The Drug Enforcement Administration-Hagerstown investigated.

Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime and drug trafficking.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.