The streets of Northwest Washington D.C. have long been marred by the dealings of drug traffickers, but a recent crackdown has seen members of the Kennedy Street Crew (KDY) facing substantial sentences. According to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, two members, Aaron DeAndre Mercer, known as "Curby," and Ronald Lynn Dorsey, have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in the drug trafficking organization.
Running an open-air drug market for KDY, Mercer has been handed a 10-year prison term for being a bulk supplier of substances including fentanyl, a substance fueling the nation's opioid crisis, as well as marijuana and cocaine base. By establishing phony businesses and shell companies, Dorsey, sentenced to 30 months, launders the proceeds of KDY's vast operations lurking behind the masks of legitimate enterprises. Among the businesses was HBG LLC, which posed as a music and entrepreneurial company but never reported any income. Overseen by U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell, these two figures represented a broader problem that plagues the streets beyond its 11-block stretch.
Their operations were not without sophistication; Dorsey flew to the West Coast on 15 occasions to move illicit products and took advantage of Covid pandemic relief loans to expand their criminal empire. He also engaged in the careful placement of his tainted wealth amid casino bets, an act of laundering as clear as the noonday sun, seeking to disguise illegal earnings at D.C. area casinos with small wagered bets and cashouts mockingly fashioned as legal gains. It was a story of crime not merely whispered but screamed in the broad daylight of Kennedy Street.
This case's investigation was carried out under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), an initiative aimed at top-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and criminal organizations that pose a threat to the public. The OCDETF utilizes a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach, combining the muscle of various enforcement agencies against criminal enterprises, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Multiple agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Metropolitan Police Department, joined forces in this sprawling investigation.
The prosecutions were carried out by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey and Sitara Witanachchi, part of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section. Through the meticulous pursuit of justice, the hands of those who once cast long shadows over Kennedy Street now find themselves shackled by their chains of conspiracy and illicit dealings. While the sentencing of Mercer and Dorsey marks a victory in the ongoing war against drug trafficking, the battle for the streets of Northwest Washington D.C. and beyond continues to rage, one arrest at a time.
