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Thomas Parker III of Washington Sentenced To 7.5 Years In Federal Prison For Role In Drug Conspiracy

WASHINGTON (WJZ) -- A 53-year-old Washington D.C. man was sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and powder and crack cocaine, according to a statement from the Maryland District of the U.S. Attorney's Office. Eight co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug conspiracy.

Thomas Parker III, also known as June, and his co-conspirators distributed heroin, fentanyl, and powder and crack cocaine to drug users and distributors in the Maryland and D.C. area, according to the plea agreement.

Parker supplied heroin and cocaine to co-defendants Arsenio Cleckley, a major narcotics trafficker in Maryland and Washington, and Diamante Hailey, according to the statement.

On March 9, 2018. Parker told Cleckley in a phone conversation he was serving time in a halfway house but a co-conspirator could supply drugs until Parker's release. The co-conspirator sold heroin to Cleckley. Cleckley complained to Parker the heroin supplied from the co-conspirators was diluted too much.

On March 12, 2018, Parker arranged to supply Cleckley with 28 grams of heroin and 31 grams of cocaine, according to the statement. The next day, Cleckley told Parker he wanted 28 grams of heroin for himself and 10 grams heroin for one of his associates.

He again complained about the quality of the heroin the co-conspiracy supplied. Then on March 13, 2018, Cleckley called Hailey to say he had obtained 10 grams of heroin on Hailey's behalf from Parker, according to the statement.

Parker also admitted that on March 15, 2018, he distributed 28 grams of heroin to Cleckley in exchange for $1,800. Cleckley then contacted Hailey to let him know that Cleckley was going to direct heroin users to Hailey's location so that the users could purchase heroin from Hailey. Later the same day, Cleckley told Hailey that Cleckley intended to purchase an additional 28 to 30 grams of heroin from Parker that Cleckley could split with Hailey.

Parker and Cleckley continued to negotiate drug transactions between March 2018, and May 25, 2018, including conversations in which Parker told Cleckley that Hailey and Cleckley owed him money.

Cleckley, 32, of Accokeek; Hailey, 27, of Clinton; as well as James Belt, 32, of Lanham; Alphonso Leroy Anthony Black, 25, of Temple Hills; Terri Bordeaux, 50, of Washington; Christina Marshall, 32, of Accokeek; Devin Simmons, of 42, of Marbury; and William Stewart, 24, also of Marbury; all pleaded guilty previously, according to the statement.

Simmons, Belt, Hailey, Stewart, and Black were sentenced to between five years in federal prison and time served — approximately 22 months, each followed by three years of supervised release. The remaining defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in the next two months.

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