WASHINGTON D.C. NEWS
February 8, 2013
Contact: Public Information Officer
Number: 202-307-3936
Former Law School Student Sentenced to Four Years in PrisonFor Conspiring to Distribute Methamphetamine
FEB 08 (WASHINGTON)  Marc A. Gersen, 31, a former law school student, was sentencedtoday to a four-year prison term for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in theWashington, D.C. area, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier,Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Gersen, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in November 2012 in the U.S. District Court forthe District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent todistribute methamphetamine. He was sentenced by the Honorable Reggie B. Walton. Uponcompletion of his prison term, Gersen will be placed on three years of supervised release. Healso must comply with a forfeiture order calling for the payment of a $120,000 money judgment,pay a fine of $2,500, and perform 400 hours of community service.
According to the facts presented at the plea hearing, between the summer of 2011 andDecember of 2011, Gersen and others, including Michael Talon and Lee Hylton, conspired andagreed to obtain and distribute wholesale quantities of methamphetamine in the Washington,D.C., area. During the period of the conspiracy, Gersen, then a student at Georgetown LawSchool, traveled to California to buy the methamphetamine, which he then would ship toWashington D.C. and sell on a regular basis, in quantities ranging from an ounce to half a pound.The wholesale price of a pound of methamphetamine is approximately $26,000.
As part of an investigation, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department executed asearch warrant on Nov. 28, 2011 at an apartment shared by Gersen and Talon in the 1600 blockof 18th Street NW. They recovered about three grams of methamphetamine, chemicals used fordrug manufacturing, and $3,000 in cash. No one was present during the search; at the time,Gersen was visiting his family in Florida, and Talon was away.
Gersen was arrested by the MPD on Dec. 1, 2011. The arrest took place outside of a hotelin the District of Columbia where others involved in the conspiracy were packaging and storing alarge a quantity of crystal methamphetamine. Talon and Hylton were arrested at the hotel.
Talon, 30, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess withintent to distribute methamphetamine and is to be sentenced March 15, 2013. Hylton, 51, ofArlington, Va., pled guilty to the same charge and is to be sentenced March 1, 2013.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Chief Lanier commended thework of the MPD officers and the agents and personnel from the U.S. Drug EnforcementAdministration and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, who worked on the investigation.They also thanked those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorneys Office, includingParalegal Specialist Crystal Seldon; Criminal Investigator Duncan Templeton, and Assistant U.S.Attorneys Patricia Stewart.