Felon Found With Drugs, Gun After Crashing Car Sentenced To Prison

LAUREL, MD — A convicted felon from Laurel has been sentenced to prison for having a machine gun and trafficking drugs.

According to court documents, on Dec. 11, 2021, the United States Park Police received a call about a broken down vehicle on the Baltimore Washington Parkway. Officers found a silver Infiniti stopped in the left travel lane.

Officers approached the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Donzell Lernard Campbell, 44, who appeared to be under the influence of PCP. Campbell took off at a high rate of speed and the police officers initially followed, but did not chase him once he reached dangerous speeds, according to court documents.

Shortly after, they found Campbell in the Infiniti after he had crashed into two other vehicles, injuring those in the other vehicles and himself, prosecutors said. Officers found a serialized semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine and 26 rounds of ammunition in Campbell’s crashed vehicle. Law enforcement also discovered 60 pills, which appeared to be oxycodone, crack cocaine in Campbell’s pockets and a scale. Campbell already had an "extensive felony record," including distribution of CDS, and felony assault on an officer, prosecutors noted.

Campbell pleaded guilty on Feb. 27, 2024, to the charges of federal possession of a machine gun, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and felon in possession of ammunition. He has been sentenced to 110 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.