Baltimore resident John James Howard has been sentenced on drug distribution charges. Howard pleaded guilty in Allegany County Circuit Court to charges of distributing large amounts of heroin and fentanyl in Allegany County, West Virginia, along with Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Howard was sentenced to 55 years in prison, with all but 30 years of the sentence suspended. The first ten years of the sentence was the mandatory minimum. Howard was reportedly the organizer, supervisor, and manager of a drug trafficking organization.