A former “Most Wanted” fugitive who had admitted his role in a major drug-trafficking operation is now trying to withdraw his guilty plea.
Authorities say Abdullah Mattocks, of Waldorf, Md., was part of a group that distributed more than 330 pounds of cocaine around the D.C. region from 2005 to 2008. The cocaine was said to have a street value of about $3 million.
Mattocks is contending that his attorney told him “he had to plead guilty” and compelled him to tell a judge he was doing so voluntarily, according to court records.
The guilty plea — signed three days after Mattocks was apprehended — was made because he was “under duress,” not because he committed the offense, Mattocks contends.
U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee on Thursday ordered new counsel to be appointed for Mattocks and set a Sept. 17 hearing date for the motion to withdraw the plea.
Mattocks’ previous attorney, John C. Kiyonaga, declined to comment on the case.
Prosecutors are opposing the motion to withdraw.
Mattocks was indicted in September 2008 on cocaine trafficking and firearms charges.
Mattocks was a “lieutenant” to the leader of the drug-trafficking ring and supervised the shipment of large quantities of cocaine across the country, according to court records.
Federal authorities said he disappeared after the indictment, and his case was featured in The Washington Examiner in March.
Mattocks was apprehended on May 18 near Baltimore by the FBI.
He signed a plea agreement three days later, and formally entered the plea in federal court in Alexandria in early June, court records show.
Four other people accused in the cocaine-trafficking ring have also pleaded guilty.
Mattocks was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, but the sentencing did not occur because of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
He could face up to life in prison for the charges. Prosecutors are asking for a sentence within the guideline range of 30 years to life in prison.
In a pre-sentencing filing, prosecutors cited Mattocks’ request to withdraw his plea as a reason to impose a harsh sentence.
Prosecutors wrote that “it is clear that the defendant no longer accepts responsibility for his criminal offenses.”
A harsh sentence is necessary, prosecutors wrote, to address “the risk for recidivism of an individual who has still not accepted responsibility for his crimes.”
