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Prosecutors say four men arrested last week were part of a pill-selling conspiracy connected to the death of Diamond Lynch in April 2021.
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors unsealed four new cases last week as part of an alleged fentanyl-trafficking conspiracy linked to the overdose death of a young D.C. mother in April 2021.
On Thursday, criminal charges were unsealed against Marcus Orlando Brown, Wayne Rodell Carr-Maiden and Thomas Columbian, all of D.C., and Marvin “Money Marr” Anthony Bussie, of Oxon Hill, Maryland. All of the defendants were taken into custody last week except for Bussie, who was already being held in pretrial detention in Maryland in a separate conspiracy case linked to 5,000 fentanyl pills mailed to a Waldorf home.
The four men are the latest defendants indicted in an alleged fentanyl trafficking conspiracy that stretched from California to D.C. and involved the sale of tens of thousands of fake oxycodone pills laced with the synthetic opioid. Prosecutors say some of those pills were sold to Diamond Lynch, a young D.C. mother who overdosed twice – once in November 2020, which she survived, and a second time in April 2021, which she did not.
Two defendants, Larry Eastman and his sister Justice, were charged in January 2022 on drug conspiracy charges linked to Lynch’s death. Both pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and were set to be sentenced next week. Prosecutors have asked for Larry Eastman, who admitted to selling Lynch the pills that caused her first overdose but has denied a role in the second, to serve 14 years in prison.
In March, a federal grand jury began returning additional indictments in connection with the alleged conspiracy. First, three defendants – Charles Taylor, Craig Eastman and Hector Valdez – were indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl. Craig Eastman, who is Larry and Justice’s brother, was additionally indicted on charges of unlawful possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and unlawful possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a protected location.
According to court filings, prosecutors allege Taylor and Craig Eastman’s role in the conspiracy included traveling to and from Los Angeles, where they purchased counterfeit oxycodone pills known as “M30s” from a third man, Hector Valdez. When Valdez, who is also charged, was arrested in California, investigators reportedly found nearly 10 lbs. of counterfeit pills and half a kilogram of fentanyl powder in his home. Police reported finding seven firearms, including one believed to be a machine gun, at the residence where Taylor and Craig Eastman were taken into custody.
Prosecutors said a search of Craig Eastman’s phone turned up drug ledgers in a note-taking application as well as hundreds of messages involving suspected drug conversations – including at least one in which Eastman indicated he knew he’d received tainted pills.
“Perhaps most troubling of all, there is at least one message conversation… where Craig Eastman knows that he has a ‘bad batch’ of pills, and instead of showing a modicum of regard for human life, he instead decides to sell the pills in a fire sale,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Wang wrote in a filing in March asking for Craig Eastman and Taylor to be detained pending trial.
A month later, two more defendants were indicted and taken into custody: Raymond Nava Jr. and Max Carias Torres, both of California. According to a filing submitted Sunday, prosecutors believe Nava and Torres were “upstream suppliers” for Valdez.
On Thursday, prosecutors unsealed charges against Brown, Carr-Maiden, Columbian and Bussie. Prosecutors allege Columbian and Carr-Maiden served as D.C.-based distributors of the fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills. Between the two of them they are accused of conspiracy to distribute “hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl” in the D.C. area.
Prosecutors said Bussie, who was already detained in Maryland on fentanyl charges, was identified as a suspected fentanyl trafficker after candy boxes containing more than 2 lbs. of counterfeit oxycontin pills were found in his luggage during screening at LAX in October 2022. Brown’s alleged role in the conspiracy was not detailed by prosecutors. Court filings indicted the case against at least one defendant may still remain sealed.
Columbian appeared in court before a magistrate judge Monday and was ordered held without bond. Brown was ordered detained until trial last week. Carr-Maiden was scheduled for a detention hearing on Tuesday. Larry and Justice Eastman were scheduled to be sentenced for their role in the alleged conspiracy on June 15 by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
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