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LEONARDTOWN, MD (March 10, 2025) – State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling announced today that John Thomas Hess, 33, of St. Inigoes, Maryland, was sentenced to 85 years in prison, with 50 years of active incarceration for the importation and distribution of large amounts of fentanyl.
Hess led and organized a large-scale drug operation that funneled fentanyl throughout St. Mary’s County. During an extensive investigation, law enforcement officers seized over 1,700 pills containing fentanyl. As little as two milligrams of fentanyl have proven to be lethal. The amount Hess possessed could have caused catastrophic harm with the ability to endanger thousands of lives.
“The deadly impact of fentanyl continues to devastate families in St. Mary’s County, our state, and across our country,” said State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling. “I promised our community that our office would prosecute cases involving opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl aggressively. We remain unwavering in our commitment to holding drug traffickers accountable and preventing this poison from destroying lives in our community. I would like to commend the law enforcement officers whose diligence and hard work ensured that these deadly pills never reached the streets in our community.”
In addition to the large amounts of fentanyl recovered, officers also seized cocaine and cash further underscoring the dangerous scale of Hess’s drug enterprise.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Lisa Ridge, Chief of the Narcotics Unit, prosecuted the case on behalf of the citizens of St. Mary’s County.
Corporal James Warrick of the Maryland State Police Criminal Enforcement Division and Detective Stephen Bowlan of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Department were the lead investigators.
The Honorable Joseph Stanalonis presided over the case.