Man sentenced to five years in Elkton gun-drug case

ELKTON — A man caught with a loaded, stolen handgun and drugs when investigators raided his residence near Elkton in May received a five-year prison term on Friday, after accepting a plea deal, according to Cecil County Circuit Court records.

Court records indicate that the defendant — Derrick Wayne Gandy, 39 — is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because of his criminal record.

Retired Cecil County Circuit Court Judge Keith A. Baynes imposed a five-year sentence on Gandy for possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony or a crime of violence during Friday’s courtroom hearing, court records show.

The judge also imposed a concurrent three-year sentence of Gandy for possession of a controlled and dangerous substance with intent to distribute, according to court records.

Gandy will serve his five-year term in a Maryland Department of Corrections prison.

The defendant pleaded guilty to those two charges as part of a plea agreement reached by Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Lewis and William F. Riddle, the Elkton-based lawyer who represented Gandy. As part of the plea bargain, prosecutors agreed to dismiss 16 related charges against Gandy, court records show.

Deputies assigned to the Street Level Crimes Unit of the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office developed Gandy as a suspect while investigating a drug distribution case with ties to New Castle County in Delaware, police said, noting that CCSO Det. Caleb Griffitts served as lead investigator.

That led to CCSO investigators raiding Gandy’s residence on Stonegate Boulvard on May 10, with the assistance of Homeland Security agents and Delaware authorities, police added.

During the court-approved search, investigators seized a loaded 9mm Luger handgun after finding it between the box springs and mattress of the suspect’s bed, court records show. The handgun, which contained 15 rounds, had been reported stolen to the Collingdale (Pa.) Police Department in May 2022, according to court records.

Investigators later learned that Gandy is barred from possessing firearms and ammunition because of a 2015 conviction for possession of a controlled and dangerous substance with intent to distribute, court records show.

Investigators also found and confiscated ammunition, 33 grams of crack cocaine, 26 bags of heroin, four grams of methamphetamine, multiple oxycodone pills, drug paraphernalia and $690 in cash, police reported. There are about 28 grams in one ounce.

Shortly after the raid, CCSO Lt. Michael Zack, an agency spokesman, commented, “The approximate street value of the seized CDS (drugs) is valued at $3,200.”