A Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) first grade teacher is now facing federal drug charges in connection with a March fentanyl-related death of a man in Washington, D.C., according to a Thursday statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Sarah Katherine Magid, 34, who taught at Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School in Silver Spring, is now being charged with distributing fentanyl that resulted in serious bodily injury and the death of a victim, according to the statement.
Magid was previously charged with violations of Maryland’s controlled dangerous substance statutes. Now, Magid is facing federal charges. Magid’s lawyer, Nicholas Madiou, declined to comment on the case.
Magid was arrested in August after Montgomery County police and special agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted a search and seizure warrant of her Burtonsville home, according to Montgomery County police.
Magid had been employed by MCPS since 2022, according to court charging documents. She was placed on leave, MCPS spokesperson Liliana López said in August.
Magid allegedly sold drugs on school property, according to a 15-page redacted affidavit from a special agent with the DEA. Claims that Magid sold the victim drugs in the months leading to his death, left her classroom to sell drugs and bragged about selling counterfeit pills were previously detailed in court charging documents
The charging documents and the affidavit did not name the man who died but said an autopsy revealed he died from a fentanyl overdose. The man was pronounced dead on March 25 in a residence for people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, according to the affidavit.
The last communication from the victim’s cell phone was the morning of March 24, and based on the level of decomposition, the affidavit states there’s reason to believe the victim may have died prior to March 25.
The affidavit details text conversations between Magid and the victim on March 23, which the investigator believes are the negotiation of a drug transaction for the victim to obtain pills that appear like oxycodone but actually contain fentanyl.
According to the affidavit, during a review of the victim’s phone, investigators also found a text conversation between the victim and another individual. Investigators believe the pair were coordinating a drug deal for fentanyl pills at an elementary school at noon on Sunday, March 23.
Those texts occurred at the same time the victim was texting with Magid, in which he agreed to pick up fentanyl pills from the other individual and deliver them to Magid. According to the affidavit, Magid also agreed to give the victim one of the pills in exchange for him picking up the pills.
The affidavit also detailed an anonymous complaint to law enforcement from July 2024 that said Magid came out of her classroom to sell drugs to people outside her work. Law enforcement identified text messages from Magid’s phone indicating she dealt drugs during school hours, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
On March 27, according to the affidavit, an investigation of Magid’s phone found a conversation between her and another individual in which she says the victim didn’t pick up drugs from her, and that drug dealers couldn’t be blamed for the death of someone they sell to.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland’s statement, if convicted, Magid faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in federal prison but actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.
