Temple Hills Man Sentenced to 13.5 Years for Leading International Fentanyl Ring

Samuel "Fats" Braxton, 57, of Temple Hills was sentenced Tuesday to 162 months in federal prison for leading a drug trafficking organization in the D.C. area while being housed at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey.

Braxton, described by prosecutors as "the top and unifying member of a drug trafficking conspiracy," coordinated a network involving at least eight people between July 2021 and November 2023. Investigators say he used a contraband cellphone from his housing unit to connect foreign drug suppliers with local distributors moving product across the Washington metro area.

In December, Braxton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue, and 100 grams or more of heroin. In addition to his prison term, a judge also ordered that Braxton serve five years of supervised release.

The case dismantled a ring that reached beyond Prince George's County to include co-conspirators from across the region. Wayne Glymph, 59, of Port Tobacco, was sentenced Jan. 14 to 13.5 years in federal prison; Michael Stewart, 61, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced Dec. 22, 2025, to 71 months in prison; Kevin Quattlebaum, 59, was sentenced Oct. 21, 2025, to 142 months in prison.

The case is not yet closed. Ronnie Rogers, 71, is scheduled for sentencing on March 31 and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to life. Michael Owens, 38, of St. Charles, pleaded guilty on Dec. 8, 2025, with sentencing scheduled for March 20.

It was during Braxton's existing prison sentence that he launched this operation — a detail that federal prosecutors made central to their case, underscoring how incarceration alone failed to stop a career offender from orchestrating an international narcotics supply chain. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced the sentence on March 24, 2026.