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Date: 04-23-2024
Case Style:
Case Number: 1:22-cr-00164
Judge: Reggie B. Walton
Court: The United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C.
Defendant's Attorney: Peter A. Cooper
Description:
Repeat Offender Sentenced for Narcotics Trafficking and Possession of a Machinegun in a Nightclub
Bryan Rice, 35, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine base in an open-air drug market in Northwest and being in possession of a firearm at a District nightclub.
Rice is one of 20 defendants charged in connection with a wide-ranging investigation centered on drug trafficking in the area of 7th and O Streets Northwest. Rice pleaded guilty January 5, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute narcotics and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. In addition to the 10-year prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered Rice to serve four years of supervised release.
Rice, aka “Ice,” sold both fentanyl and cocaine base, including distribution quantities of each, to undercover officers on five occasions between October 20, 2021, and March 24, 2022. When he was arrested on April 25, 2022, Rice was at the Rosebar Lounge, a nightclub on Connecticut Avenue. During an altercation, he was observed by police with a firearm in his waistband. The weapon, a 9mm Glock 17 with 17 rounds in the magazine, had been outfitted with a machine gun conversion device, which is designed to allow the gun to be fired as a fully automatic weapon.
Rice has six prior adult convictions. His first, in 2006, came after he was involved in an armed robbery. His second came less than three years later, after he sold drugs to an undercover officer. Two years after that, he was convicted of possession of a firearm. He was convicted in 2014 and 2019 of additional robbery and theft-related offenses; in one instance, he tried to snatch someone’s phone, and in the other, he was caught trying to steal merchandise from department stores. In April 2022—the same month he was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm in the instant case—he was convicted of possession of cocaine after he apparently sold someone drugs and was also found to be in possession of drugs for the purpose of distribution.
This case stems from a collaborative investigation by the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) of MPD’s Violent Crime Suppression Division, the FBI Washington Field Office’s Cross Border Safe Streets Task Force, the Washington Division of the DEA, and the U.S. Park Police. The Cross Border Safe Streets Task Force targets the most egregious and violent street crews operating in the District of Columbia.
The investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Solomon Eppel of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section, with valuable assistance provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Wasserman and Kevin Rosenberg and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaunik Panse.
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Defendant's Experts:
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