
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><figure><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Christopher-Smith-Purple-Drank-Arrest.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-large wp-image-8959" src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Christopher-Smith-Purple-Drank-Arrest-1024x988.jpg" alt="Christopher Smith Purple Drank Arrest" width="1024" height="988"/></a></figure></h2>



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<h6 class="has-text-align-left wp-block-heading">UPDATE: All counts of the indictment were dropped against Christopher Andrew Smith on Aug. 17, 2015, by PG County States Attorney Angela Alsobrooks</h6>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Christopher Andrew Smith Convicted After Federal Jury Trial of Involuntary Manslaughter, Reckless Driving, and Related Charges in Connection with a Fatal Crash on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway</h4>



<h5 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">Three-Year-Old Girl Was Thrown From Car and Killed</h5>



<p><strong><em>Greenbelt, ;</em></strong>Maryland – A federal jury on Jan. 30, 2020, convicted Christopher Andrew Smith, age 30, of Beltsville, Maryland, after a two-day trial of involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving, driving without a license, and failure to place a child in a safety seat, in connection with a fatal car crash on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway on February 5, 2018, in which a three-year-old child was killed. ;</p>



<p>According to the evidence presented at trial, on February 5, 2018, Christopher Smith drove a 2011 Nissan Altima on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. ; Smith was accompanied by an adult male and that man’s three-year-old daughter. ; An eyewitness reported that Smith was driving at a high rate of speed when he attempted to pass the witness’s vehicle on the right shoulder, near the exit for Route 198. ; Smith lost control of the vehicle on the shoulder then swerved into the left lane of the Parkway before crashing into a tree in the wooded median. ; Smith and the male passenger were found partially ejected from the vehicle suffering from critical injuries. ; The two adults were evacuated to hospitals by helicopter for treatment. ; The three-year-old girl, who was not secured with a car seat or seatbelt, was ejected from the vehicle and was located in the woods a few feet away. ; She was pronounced dead at the scene.</p>



<p>Smith faces a maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison for involuntary manslaughter; and a maximum of six months in federal prison each for reckless driving, driving without a license, and failure to place a child in a safety seat. ; Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. ; U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has not set a date for Smith’s sentencing.</p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">LEONARDTOWN, MD. &#8212; Christopher Andrew Smith, 25, of Laurel, was on his way out of a St. Mary’s County drugstore with some Purple Drank when narco cops pounced on him, reports St. Mary’s Vice and Narco Commander Capt. Daniel Alioto. Alioto reports that Detectives continue to investigate prescription fraud incidents involving a group of individuals attempting to obtain “Promethazine-Codeine” known on the street as “Purple Drank”. A series of arrests involving the popular narcotics have been made in the past year.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Smith, 25, of 9128 Cherry Lane, Laurel, Md., was arrested by Deputy Michael A. Labanowski after detectives apprehended him picking up the fraudulent prescription from a local pharmacy. Smith was charged on a civil citation and immediately released for possession of fewer than 10 grams of marijuana. It is likely that Smith will either roll over on his competitors and associates in the drug business and never be charged or else his indictment will be rolled out in coming months.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Smith was arrested in Prince Georges County, Md., and charged with possession of drugs and also of pot, and possession of drugs with the intent to distribute on Dec. 20, 2014.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Prince Georges County States Attorney Angela Alsobrooks dropped two of the charges on April 16, 2015. Alsobrooks dumped the distribution charge on Jan. 30, 2015, Smith was represented in court by a taxpayer-provided attorney, Maryland Public Defender Jennifer Park, the Acting Chief of the District Court Division in Hyattsville. The other shoe dropped on April 30, 2015, when the Prince Georges County Grand Jury handed down a wheelbarrow load of indictments against Smith.</span></p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/CHESAPEAKE-TODAY-June-2015-Crime-ebook/dp/B00ZGYB0EU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&;qid=1436405301&;sr=8-2&;keywords=The+Chesapeake+Today&;pebp=1436405304382&;perid=02YNPQCXC7CREJZ445C0"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Chesapeake-Today-June-front-page-235x300.jpg" alt="Now on newsstands in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Click here to buy at Amazon - FREE to Kindle Unlimited customers" class="wp-image-8809"/></a><figcaption> Click here to buy at Amazon &#8211; FREE to Kindle Unlimited customers</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Smith now faces the following Counts: (1) CDS possess with intent to distribute, (2) Firearm/Drug Trafficking Crime, (3) Regulated Firearm: Illegal Possession, (4) CDS: Possess-Cocaine, (5) Handgun: Wear/Carry &; Transport In Vehicle/Public Roads, ETC, (6) Con-Possess With Intent To Distribute. ; Attorney C. T. Wilson with the Public Defender’s Office in Upper Marlboro, Md., filed to represent Smith.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Legislative Auditor criticized the Public Defender’s Office last year for failing to properly certify who they give legal defense to in Maryland Courts and failing to collect administrative fees required to be paid to defray the costs of the operation to the taxpayers. Drug dealers in Maryland routinely avail themselves of public defenders unless they are looking at hard time, then they dig into their piggy banks, dig up money buried in their momma’s back yard or go to a safe deposit box in another state and hire high-priced experienced attorneys.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> ;Alioto reports that the investigation has numerous suspects in multiple jurisdictions and additional arrests and charges are pending a review with St. Mary&#8217;s County State’s Attorney Richard D. Fritz.</span></p>



<p><strong>Other drug arrests include:</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Ganse-Chelsea.jpg"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Ganse-Chelsea-150x150.jpg" alt="Chelsea Ganse" class="wp-image-8960"/></a><figcaption>Chelsea Ganse</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Chelsea Alissa Ganse, 21, of Lexington Park, was indicted and charged with possession of pot with the intent to sell it.</span></p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Blackiston-James.jpg"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Blackiston-James-150x150.jpg" alt="James William Blackiston" class="wp-image-8961"/></a><figcaption>James William Blackiston</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">James William Blackiston, 22, of Lexington Park, Md., was identified by police as a distributor of marijuana. Undercover purchases were conducted, say police, and a subsequent search and seizure warrant was executed. Police report that recovered from his residence was more than 27 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, a cell phone, a handgun and additional rounds of ammunition.</span></p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Jack-Anthony-White.jpg"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Jack-Anthony-White-150x150.jpg" alt="Jack Anthony White" class="wp-image-8962"/></a><figcaption>Jack Anthony White</figcaption></figure></div>



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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jack Anthony White, 31, of District Heights, Md., was indicted for being in the cocaine business and having enough of the drug to sell.</span></p>