2 Harford County Cocaine Dealers Convicted In Federal Court

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A federal jury has convicted two men for their role in a drug distribution conspiracy in Harford County.

Che Jaron Durbin, 43, and Terrell Darnell Walton, 36, were found guilty on conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine.

The jury also found Durbin guilty of two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

According to evidence presented at the eight-day trial, in May 2019, members of the Harford County Drug Task Force were investigating Durbin, who was suspected of drug trafficking in the Harford County area.

Authorities said Durbin testified at trial that he had a previous federal drug trafficking conviction in Maryland, as well as a previous conviction in Harford County Circuit Court for drug trafficking.

Witnesses testified that on May 17, 2019, a U.S. postal inspector notified detectives that a suspicious package was en route to Durbin’s mother’s apartment in Aberdeen.

Detectives watched as a U.S. postal service mail carrier delivered the parcel to Durbin, who took it into the apartment. A short time later, a woman, later identified as co-defendant Jameka Cara Thompson, left the apartment with the parcel and drove to her home, federal prosecutors said.

Law enforcement detained Thompson and obtained a search warrant for her vehicle. The parcel was found to contain one kilogram of compressed cocaine. Further investigation revealed that co-defendant Jack Anderson from Tucson, Arizona was the sender of the package.

On Jan. 22, 2020, law enforcement learned from U.S. Postal Inspectors that Durbin sent a parcel from Havre de Grace addressed to Anderson in Tucson. A search warrant was obtained for the parcel after a K9 gave a positive alert. The parcel contained $82,300 in cash inside a wireless headphones box, prosecutors said.

In February 2020, as part of the investigation, law enforcement intercepted Durbin’s communications, as well as those of Anderson, Walton, and other co-defendants to whom Durbin supplied cocaine and crack. The evidence at trial also showed that Walton obtained cocaine from Durbin, which Walton then sold to a network of individuals in Harford County. Intercepted communications between Durbin and Walton included discussions regarding the amounts of drugs and the price, often using coded language.

According to trial testimony, in May 2020, law enforcement surveilled Durbin meeting with Anderson at a Tucson, Arizona hotel. Soon after the meeting, Durbin picked Thompson up at the Tucson Airport and drove her back to his hotel room.

Durbin flew back to Maryland the next day and Thompson ultimately obtained a bulk supply of cocaine from Anderson on Durbin’s behalf. Thompson drove cross-country from Arizona to Harford County, where she was arrested on May 12, 2020.

Prosecutors said law enforcement searched her vehicle, seizing an additional 1.4 kilograms of cocaine. Durbin was also arrested.

According to trial testimony, over the course of the conspiracy Thompson made at least eight similar trips on Durbin’s behalf, transporting almost 40 kilograms of cocaine to Maryland for Durbin to distribute.

Durbin and Walton each face a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. Durbin also faces a maximum of 40 years in federal prison for each of two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.