A Baltimore County Circuit Court judge ruled recently in favor of allowing parole for a Muslims of America heroin dealer.

Mustafa Amin Abdussamad, 22, of Red House, Virginia, had been the ringleader in a four-person failed attempt to traffic nearly 400 units of heroin from Philadelphia, PA, to Lynchburg, Virginia.

Abdussamad plead guilty in December to carrying 28 grams of packaged heroin on August 23, 2007, while traveling south on Interstate 95 with three accomplices.

Munir Ibn Abdussalaam, 24, Hassan Abdur Rahman, 22, and female Adrenne Janay Stewart, 20, reached plea deals in December and January avoiding jail beyond time served during trial.

The case originally charged the group with “volume dealer” penalties, trafficking 392 units [individually wrapped packets] of heroin weighing more than 55 grams.

Baltimore County Patrol Officer J.M. Young also charged them with carrying more than two pounds of marijuana in containers prepared for resale in Virginia.

The 28-gram heroin plea put Abdussamad at the line for Maryland’s “volume dealer” statute for mandatory five-year imprisonment without parole.

On appeal, defense attorney John L. Calhoun complained the amount admitted to included packaging material, with the illegal substance alone falling below the statutory level.

“The original weight had been a gross weight and the new analysis included a net weight,” Calhoun said in a brief to Baltimore County Judge Vicki Ballou-Wats.

“The net weight was found to be 26.8 grams of heroin,” he added. He also expressed thanks to
Baltimore County Prosecutor John F. Reilly for cooperating in the sentence adjustment.

“I would be remiss without commending Mr. Reilly for his professionalism in the handling of this case,” Calhoun said.

Reilly waged no objections, and expressed agreement with the parole designation, resulting in the four finding near clemency for their admitted actions.

Officer Young said he saw a white Chrysler 300 speeding through a construction area as he patrolled I-95 South at about 3 a.m., last August 23, so he pulled them over.

Abdussamad gave false identification, indicating the name “Yahya Khalil Abdurrahman. “Later investigation revealed the first license belonged to operator’s cousin,” Young said.

The story shifted to the vehicle having been rented by “a family member” for Abdussamad’s use. “I asked him to exit the vehicle to verify his license information and who rented the Chrysler,” Young said.

Abdussamad gave a wrong name for who the rental agreement was under. “The name on the rental agreement was Marion Mitchell,” Young said.

“The rental agreement also indicated no other drivers were permitted and the vehicle could only be operated in Virginia.”

Young made arrangements for impounding the vehicle under probable cause to suspect its unauthorized use, and he asked for a backup unit to assist the growing investigation.

Officers began their inventory of the vehicle once backup arrived. Eventually, they were looking at 392 individual packets of heroin in 14-pack bindles carried in two larger plastic bags.

They also found three large plastic bags of marijuana, two weighing about a pound each and the third weighing in at a quarter pound.

“I recognized the large amount of marijuana and the method it was concealed within the vehicle as indicative of someone possessing [it] with the intent to distribute,” Young said.

A Maryland detective interviewed the four charged suspects in the case during their arrest processing, at which time Abdussamad said the heroin belonged to him.

“He said he travels to Philadelphia every two or three weeks to purchase it,” Young said. “He said he paid $1,200 for the heroin…he sells it for $125 a bindle, and will make approximately $3,500 for what was found.”

Abdussamad denied any knowledge of the marijuana, and the other three denied knowledge of there being any drug substances at all in the vehicle.

PRB News obtained copies of hand-written letters by Abdussamad addressing his court case. In one, he identifies himself as a married man with a pregnant wife.

“Your honor, I just want to be a father-figure in my son’s life, something I didn’t have,” he said. “I’m just requesting that you would consider giving me a chance at parole.”

In his initial appearance questionnaire, he identified himself as single, living with his brother in Lynchburg, whom he identifies as Khalil Abdussamad, and working for Jeremiah’s Tree Service.

Abdussalaam identified himself as a nine-month resident of Concord, Virginia, living with Angela Marshall [near Lynchburg] after having a Rauls Road, Rustburg, address near Red House for seven years.

Rahman noted a Lynchburg address as his for one month after moving from Red House, where he had lived for eight years, maintaining employment with Choppers Barber Shop.

Abdussamad had been convicted in 2006 of possession with intent, and had been on parole for that charge when arrested in Maryland.

Abdussalaam had prior marijuana distribution and firearms convictions from a Virginia case in 2004, and a distribution conviction in 2006.

Last noted place of residence for Abdussamad was a Jessup, Pennsylvania, transition facility for parole release.