Convicted Drug Kingpin Gets 30 Years In Prison
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Edward Stinson, 30, of Philadelphia, PA was sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment and five years’ supervised release by United States District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond for leading the Stinson Drug Trafficking Group, which sold crack cocaine in and around the Norman Blumberg Apartment Complex in North Philadelphia from about 2010 through 2015.
In January 2019, the defendant was found guilty at trial of conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack”) near a public housing facility, and several related drug charges, including unlawful use of a communication facility in furtherance of a drug felony. Stinson was the leader of the group, and he was assisted in the daily operations of the drug gang by multiple individuals, including his co-defendant at trial, Debra Baylor. They obtained bulk quantities of cocaine from suppliers and arranged for it to be cooked into crack cocaine inside various apartments in Blumberg. The crack cocaine was then distributed on the streets of North Philadelphia, often accompanied by violence that terrorized the neighborhood.
“For at least half a decade, Stinson and the members of his gang controlled the illicit drug market in this neighborhood,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “His drug trafficking organization operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, tearing at the fabric of the neighborhood at the expense of the families, seniors, and other neighbors living there. Today, justice prevailed and Stinson got what he deserved.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Josh A. Davison and Joseph T. Labrum, III.