MECHANICS WANTED
HEROIN HIGHWAY TO HELL: Leandro Acevedo Lozada Entered Guilty Plea to Distribution of Fentanyl-Laced Drugs; Codefendant Bradley Seabolt Also Guilty and Sold Deadly Fatal Dose
Greenbelt, Maryland – Attention druggies! Can you trust your drug dealer to sell you cocaine that is not laced with Fentanyl? Do you really care?
Leandro Acevedo Lozada, 33, of 19030 Mills Choice Road, Apt. 1, Gaithersburg, Maryland, pleaded guilty on July 5, 2018, to: conspiracy to distribute fentanyl; possession of acetyl fentanyl and cocaine; and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Lozada pleaded guilty on Oct. 10, 2012, to drug dealing, discharge of a firearm and illegal transfer of a firearm, as well as violating his probation in Montgomery County Circuit Court and was sentenced to a year in jail.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur.
According to his plea agreement, from January 2017 through February 2017, Lozada conspired to distribute acetyl fentanyl and cocaine. Lozada distributed the drugs to street dealers and drug users, including co-defendant Bradley Seabolt. Although Lozada was not certain of the exact chemical compounds contained in opioids he sold, the appearance and strength of the drugs caused Lozada to suspect it was fentanyl. Because the opioids Lozada sold were so strong, he used powdered sugar to dilute them, in an effort to both expand its volume and his profit and to allegedly make the drugs safer for his customers. If you believe that one, sign up for some great land for sale in Hawaii, the deals on land there are really smokin’!
Seabolt sold drugs containing both acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl to an individual in Montgomery County, who subsequently died from ingesting the drugs.
On January 11, 2017, Seabolt sold drugs containing both acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl to an individual in Montgomery County, who subsequently died from ingesting the drugs. Seabolt had obtained the drugs from Lozada. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the victim died from fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, and cocaine intoxication.
On February 17, 2017, a search warrant was executed at residences used by Lozada in Damascus and Gaithersburg. From the residence in Damascus, law enforcement recovered: 147 grams of a substance that contained both acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl; approximately 23 grams of cocaine; a bag of powdered sugar used by Lozada as a cutting agent for his opioids; $4,452 in cash; and a digital scale. From the residence in Gaithersburg, law enforcement recovered a .45-caliber handgun belonging to Lozada. Lozada had a previous felony conviction, which prohibited him from legally possessing the firearm.
Bradley Wade Seabolt, 30, of 366 N. Summit Ave., Apt. 1003, Gaithersburg, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances on December 19, 2017, and is awaiting sentencing. Seabolt entered guilty pleas to Maryland drug charges on March 14, 2016. Other guilty pleas to drug charges go back more than ten years.
Lozada and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Lozada will be sentenced to at least 10 years, but no more than 20 years, in prison. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for October 12, 2018, at 1:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Bernstein, who is prosecuting the case.
