Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun and Drug Crimes in Virginia and West Virginia

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Bowie, Maryland, man pleaded guilty yesterday to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

According to court documents, on Aug. 18, 2022, William Phillip McDowell, Jr, aka “Mike,” 44, was driving a rental car through Harrison County, West Virginia, with two passengers when an officer from the Clarksburg Police Department stopped the vehicle for speeding. At the time, McDowell’s driver's license was suspended, and McDowell was on probation for a felony murder conviction. During a search of the vehicle, police found a pack containing a brick-sized package of 997.7 grams of fentanyl, 43 baggies containing a total of 16.46 grams of fentanyl, a bag containing 8.89 grams of cocaine, and a stolen, loaded .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun. McDowell pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl in this case.

On July 7, 2023, detectives with the Prince William County Police Department observed McDowell conducting what appeared to be a drug transaction in a parking lot in Woodbridge, Virginia. When McDowell returned to the passenger seat of his vehicle, the detectives detained and searched the vehicle. In the passenger seat where McDowell had been sitting, the detectives found a backpack containing a .380 caliber handgun, .380 caliber ammunition, 388 fentanyl pills, 22 grams of cocaine, a digital scale with cocaine residue, $617.85 in cash, and a wallet with McDowell’s photo identification card. McDowell pleaded guilty to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

McDowell is scheduled to be sentenced on June 11. He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison for the drug trafficking charge from the Northern District of West Virginia and a mandatory minimum of five years to be served consecutively with any other prison term and up to life in prison for the firearms charge from the Eastern District of Virginia. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; William Ihlenfeld, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Peter Newsham, Chief of Prince William County Police; and Mark Kiddy, Clarksburg Chief of Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith Edwards and Raizza K. Ty are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon S. Flower prosecuted the Northern District of West Virginia case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) and the District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia (NDWV) or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1:23-cr-196 and 1:24-cr-59 for EDVA and Case No. 1:23-cr-42 for NDWV.