Two major heroin case sentencings helped to put the drug problem in a local spotlight last week.

Last Thursday, Luther Lashawn Brothers,34, was sentenced to 25 years in the Maryland Division of Correction, without the possibility of parole, for being in possession of heroin with the intent to distribute.

The defendant is ineligible for parole because he has two prior narcotic distribution convictions from Virginia. Brothers was found guilty, following a bench trial in the Wicomico County Circuit Court in April 30.

Brothers was convicted for being in possession of 41.5 grams of heroin. At trial, the state’s expert witness testified that this amount of heroin, if broken down to the smallest level, would provide 4,150 individual bags of heroin with a street value of nearly $83,000.

“It has been well publicized that heroin use and abuse is a serious problem for Wicomico County. Removing heroin dealers from our streets is but one way that we are combating this problem.” said Wicomico County State’s Attorney Matthew Maciarello.

Maciarello commended the members of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation of this case.

Also Thursday, Bradley Aaron Hill, 29, of Salisbury, was convicted and sentenced on one count of possession with the intent to distribute heroin.

A county Circuit Court judge sentenced Hill to 14 years of active incarceration in the Maryland Division of Correction. The total sentence imposed was 20 years with all but 14 years suspended.

Upon his release, Hill will have three years of supervision by the Division of Parole and Probation.

Hill had been pending charges related to his November arrest for drug offenses.

Officers from the Salisbury Police Department’s Safe Streets Unit and the Maryland State Police Gang Enforcement Unit were on patrol in Salisbury when they observed a subject, who was subsequently be identified as Hill, leave a gas station only to drive to another gas station nearby.  At neither location did the officers observe Hill pump any gasoline into his vehicle.

Hill then began to leave the second gas station at which time he observed the officers in their vehicle pass his location. Hill then turned around and re-entered the gas station parking lot.

Thinking this behavior strange, officers pulled into the gas station parking lot to approach Hill in order to speak with him.  As the officers approached Hill’s vehicle, Hill began to exit his vehicle and, at the same time, Hill discarded a number of small blue capsules onto the ground.

This was observed by the officers, who immediately recovered the capsules and found them to contain heroin.

After Hill was arrested for the heroin capsules, a search incident to that arrest led to the recovery of multiple additional capsules from Hill’s person and vehicle.

Maciarello commended the Salisbury Police Department’s Safe Streets Unit and the Maryland State Police Gang Enforcement Unit for their work in the investigation and prosecution of this case.