Baltimore Man Sentenced to 24 Years on Columbia Drug Charges

Brandon Scott Cowan, 28, of Baltimore, was sentenced to 24 years in prison Monday on three counts of drug possession with intent to distribute, according to Wayne Kirwan, a spokesperson for the Howard County state’s attorney’s office. 

Cowan is a former Columbia resident, Kirwan said.

The lengthy sentence was imposed by Judge Louis A. Becker III after taking into account subsequent and repeat offender penalties.

Cowan was arrested on June 21, 2011 in Harper’s Choice after a police discovered marijuana, crack cocaine and 12 tablets of a “hallucinogenic drug commonly referred to as foxy methoxy,” according to Kirwan.

Cowan was eligible for 40 years in prison for the charges due to a previous 2003 conviction in U.S. District Court for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He served three years in federal prison for that conviction, according to Kirwan. The assistant state’s attorney in the case, Brian Furlong, noted to the court that on the day Cowan was arrested in 2011 that he was still on supervised release for the 2003 federal drug charges, according to Kirwan.

Also, in 2003 Cowan was convicted of assaulting a 15-year-old with a handgun in Howard County, according to Kirwan.