Baltimore Man Will Spend More than 5 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Trafficking

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - A Baltimore, Maryland man was sentenced for his role in distributing fentanyl in Hampshire County, West Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

Dorian Andre Ward, also known as "Tay Blue," age 32, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute fentanyl. Ward was supplying others with fentanyl to be sold in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and elsewhere. A federal search warrant was executed at Ward's home and investigators seized 20 grams of fentanyl, $10,000, and a loaded 9mm pistol. Ward has prior drug, assault, and theft convictions.

Ward will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

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

The Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, 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), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.

U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.