Robert Young, 35, pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Maryland said. His sentencing is scheduled for February 18, 2027.
What the firearm charge means
Young faces up to 20 years in prison on the cocaine charge, while the firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of life, FOX45 News reported. The two potential terms are not simply added at a judge’s discretion: the U.S. Sentencing Commission says punishments under section 924(c) run consecutively to any other prison term.
National figures and other cases provide context, not a forecast. The Sentencing Commission reports that the average sentence for people sentenced in fiscal year 2025 with a section 924(c) conviction was 149 months. In a separate Maryland case, the U.S. Park Police reported that Donzell Lernard Campbell was sentenced to 110 months in November 2025 after pleading guilty to a firearm-in-furtherance charge and other offenses, including possessing a machine gun. The charges and circumstances differed, so neither figure establishes what Young will receive.
Investigation described in the case
FOX45 reported that the case grew out of an October 2024 investigation. A detective monitoring a CitiWatch camera in Baltimore’s Eastern District said they saw Young exchange red-top vials for cash. When officers approached, Young tried to leave on a bicycle; an officer then saw a gun handle protruding from his pants pocket, the outlet reported.
During a later search at the district station, officers found cocaine in several forms and two buprenorphine strips in a bag concealed in Young’s underwear, according to FOX45. The outlet also reported that officers found a prescription bottle containing 13 clonazepam tablets and a methamphetamine tablet. The firearm had one cartridge in its chamber and nine in its magazine.
