Maryland Man Sentenced to 180 Months for Drug and Firearms Offenses

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Brandon Bartley, age 26, of Laurel, Maryland, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison and to pay a $5,000 fine for drug and gun crimes in connection with his trafficking of large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, and his possession of more than 30 firearms.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Field Division, and Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), made the announcement.

Bartley previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl; possession with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl; and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.

Bartley admitted that he engaged in a conspiracy to distribute, and that he possessed with intent to distribute, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, from an apartment on Western Avenue in Albany. On May 23, 2023, law enforcement searched his apartment and found 34 firearms, including a loaded Glock on his bed that he used to protect his drugs and drug proceeds, and other firearms, as well as more than 400 grams of fentanyl pills, more than 7,000 grams of pills containing methamphetamine, and more than 700 grams of cocaine.

United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci also ordered that Bartley serve a 5-year term of supervised release following his release from prison.

The following defendants have also been charged in connection with this investigation:

• Anthony Luizzi pled guilty on March 18, 2024, to drug and gun crimes in connection with his trafficking of large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, and his possession of more than 30 firearms, including drugs and guns found at the Western Avenue property. Luizzi is scheduled to be sentenced on October 1, 2024.
• Devon Newsome pled guilty on September 3, 2024, to unlawfully transferring firearms as part of the firearms trafficking conspiracy. Newsome is scheduled to be sentenced on January 6, 2025.
• Jabree Jones was charged with a violation of the terms of his supervised release on May 23, 2023, based on violations of federal gun and drug trafficking laws, and has been detained pending the resolution of the supervised release violation petition. A final revocation hearing is currently scheduled for December 17, 2024. The charges against Jones are merely accusations. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The DEA and the ATF are investigating the case, with assistance from the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office (SCSO), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG), and Henry County Police Department in Georgia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Wentworth-Ping is prosecuting the case.