Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess announced that Purnell Summerville, 40, was sentenced to 25 years of active incarceration for possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. This case is the defendant’s fourth felony drug conviction and a third conviction for a case involving a firearm.
Summerville entered a guilty plea on April 15, 2022.
“The defendant is a convicted felon who repeatedly sold a deadly substance that ruined lives in our community. He didn’t care about the impact that this drug has on our residents. With this sentence, the defendant will be accountable for his continued endangerment of others,” said State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. “If you suffer from addiction, please know there is help available. Please visit the Anne Arundel County Health Department website or call at 410-222-7256 for Safe Station locations and recovery resources.”
On March 25, 2021, Anne Arundel County detectives were in a parking lot located in the 8000 of Crain Highway in Glen Burnie. There, they observed a black Jeep Compass committing a traffic violation and pulled the vehicle over. The passenger, identified as Purnell Summerville, was observed to have a large bulge in the left chest area of his windbreaker jacket. A detective asked the defendant to step out of the vehicle because two minor children were in the back seat. The defendant became agitated and denied the detective’s request. He then changed his position in the seat, and his chest pocket of the windbreaker was now open and exposed due to the large size of the item inside of his jacket. The detective shined his flashlight onto Mr. Summerville and observed the top of a clear plastic baggie sticking out of the pocket and appeared to contain controlled dangerous substances. The defendant then exited the vehicle and was immediately placed under arrest. The detective opened the defendant’s jacket and, on the left side, located three clear plastic baggies, each containing a large number of clear gel capsules with an off-white powdery substance which was confirmed as fentanyl. The detectives recovered a total of 70 capsules from the defendant, which indicated an intent to distribute.
Additionally, during a search of the vehicle, a loaded black semi-automatic handgun was found inside the door pocket on the passenger side next to the defendant.
