District of Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur today announced $10,199,380 in Department of Justice grants to benefit law enforcement officers in the District of Maryland. The grants, awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, are part of over $54 million in funding nationwide to provide services that protect officers and improve overall public safety. OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded grants to law enforcement departments, local jurisdictions, and training and technical assistance organizations throughout the United States.

The FBI’s official crime data for 2019, the most recent available, reflects a decrease in the number of law enforcement officers killed feloniously between 2018 and 2019, from 43 to 32 killed as of September 30, 2019. The number of law enforcement officers reported accidentally killed in 2019 decreased slightly from 33 to 29 in the same reporting period. Additionally, officers experienced nearly 59,000 assaults against them in 2018.  

“We simply cannot close our eyes to the unique risks facing law enforcement officers,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “It is critically important to support our law enforcement officers and these grants will help provide the tools needed to keep them safe and healthy.” 

“The Office of Justice Programs stands proudly with the Attorney General and the President in our commitment to the health and safety of 700,000 sworn law enforcement professionals who selflessly place their lives in jeopardy to keep us all safe,” said OJP’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “Bulletproof vests, body-worn cameras, professional training on wellness and safety—these resources, equipment and strategies will help officers do their jobs effectively, keep them safe from harm and protect their health.”

Nationwide, more than $19 million will support the training and implementation of law enforcement agencies’ body-worn camera programs. Another $23.6 million will reimburse jurisdictions for up to 50 percent of the cost of body-armor vests, while nearly $11 million will support law enforcement safety and wellness programs, research and services.

The following organizations in Maryland received funding:

• Morgan State University received $139, 380 under the Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program to enable it to improve the capacity to gather evidence and protect the safety of law enforcement officers and citizens.
• Towson University received $60,000 under the same program.
• Justice and Security Strategies received $10 million under the Supporting Small and Rural Agency Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program to provide funding and program development to assist small agencies nationwide.
  
  For a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and jurisdictions that will receive funding, click here. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged 55 federal gun possession cases in Baltimore and 31 in Greenbelt so far during the 2020 calendar year, and the office continues to investigate and charge defendants who illegally possess and use firearms.  These gun possession cases are just one component of the District’s larger Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which specifically targets violent crime by combining local, state, and federal law enforcement efforts; community action and revitalization; and public awareness.  The use of federal resources and statutes, which carry significant terms of imprisonment—in federal prisons far from Maryland, with no suspended sentences, and no parole—is especially helpful in prosecuting repeat violent offenders, who pose the greatest threat to public safety.  

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby of the State’s Attorney’s Office for Baltimore City; and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh.

“Reducing violent crime in Maryland is job one.  We are proud of the work we have done to date, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.  In Baltimore, our relentless focus on reducing the gun crime that plagues the City has resulted in more federal gun possession cases charged to date this year than during the entirety of last year,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “We and our partners will continue together to focus on prosecuting the repeat violent offenders who wreak havoc in and terrorize our communities.”

“The application of federal charges against individuals who illegally possess or use firearms to commit a crime has been a game changer in our efforts to reduce gun violence and successfully prosecute criminal offenders throughout Maryland,” said ATF Baltimore Field Division Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones.  “The ATF Baltimore Field Division and our partners will continue to aggressively pursue those who criminally possess or use a firearm in the commission of a crime, and we are grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their continued commitment to ensuring that these unlawful offenders answer for their crimes.”

The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are continuing our efforts to address gun violence by using federal statutes prohibiting felons from possessing firearms.  These types of reactive gun cases are one part of Maryland’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), our violent-crime reduction strategy.  The United States Attorney’s Office, through the use of Project Safe Neighborhoods, will continue to pursue felons with guns who constitute a clear and present danger to the safety and welfare of the citizens of Maryland.  

One of the reasons for the success of the program in Baltimore is the use of Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys (SAUSAs) provided by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City and funded through grants from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth & Victim Services.  These SAUSAs, who almost exclusively handle federal gun and violent crime cases, are force multipliers in the fight against violent crime.

The Department of Justice announced on October 13, 2020, that it has charged more than 14,200 defendants with firearms-related crimes nationwide during Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, despite the challenges of COVID 19 and its impact on the criminal justice process.  These cases have been a Department priority since November 2019 when Attorney General William P. Barr announced his commitment to investigating, prosecuting, and combatting gun crimes as a critical part of the Department’s anti-violent crime strategy.  These firearms-related charges are the result of the critical law enforcement partnership between United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, led by Acting Director Regina Lombardo, who has made firearms-related investigations a priority.

“The number one priority of government is to keep its citizens safe,” said Attorney General Barr. “By preventing firearms from falling into the hands of individuals who are prohibited from having them, we can stop violent crime before it happens. Violating federal firearms laws is a serious crime and offenders face serious consequences.  The Department of Justice is committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals, who illegally buy, sell, use, or possess firearms. Reducing gun violence requires a coordinated effort, and we could not have charged more than 14,000 individuals with firearms-related crimes without the hard work of the dedicated law enforcement professionals at the ATF, our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, and especially all of our state and local law enforcement partners.”

“Protecting the public from violent crime involving firearms is at the core of ATF’s mission,” commented ATF Acting Director Regina Lombardo.  “Every day the men and women of ATF pursue and investigate those who use firearms to commit violent crimes in our communities, many of whom are prohibited from possessing firearms from previous convictions.  ATF, in collaboration with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the nation, is committed to bringing these offenders to justice for their egregious and violent criminal acts.”

Under federal law, it is illegal to possess a firearm if you fall into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon, illegal alien, or unlawful user of a controlled substance.  Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime.  It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to illegally purchase - firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others.  Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, is also a federal offense.  The Department is committed to prosecuting these firearms offenses as well as using all modern technologies available to law enforcement such as the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, known as NIBIN, to promote gun crime intelligence.  Keeping illegal firearms out of the hands of violent criminals will continue to be a priority of the Department of Justice and we will use all appropriate, available means to keep the law-abiding people of this country safe from gun crime. 

For more information on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atf-form-4473.         

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – United States Attorney Robert K. Hur announced today that Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Leo J. Wise will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 3, 2020, general election.  AUSA Wise has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Maryland, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights concerns in consultation with state authorities, the FBI, and Justice Department Headquarters.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur said, “The vote is the foundation of our democracy. Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted accurately.  We will always act appropriately to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur.  The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open through election day.

Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input, tampering with ballot drop boxes, altering or destroying mail-in ballots, and disseminating misinformation about the time, place and manner of voting.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them.  For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting may violate federal voting rights law.  Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy).

The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy.  We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.  In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights concerns during the voting period that ends on November 3, 2020, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, United States Attorney Hur stated that AUSA/DEO Wise will be on duty in this District an available to the public from now through election day, November 3, 2020.  He can be reached by phone at 410-209-4800.

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.  The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 410-265-8080.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.

Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities.  State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate.  It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – James Piccirilli, age 39, of Mt. Airy, Maryland, was arrested on October 13, 2020, in New Salisbury, Indiana.  Piccirilli was sentenced on January 13, 2020, by U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanie Thacker, sitting by designation in Baltimore, to 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of an unregistered fully automatic firearm.  Piccirilli fled after sentencing and did not meet his prison reporting date.  He was located and arrested by law enforcement including federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore and Louisville Field Divisions, U.S. Deputy Marshals from Indiana, and officers from the Southeast Indiana Regional SWAT Team.

The arrest was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Tim Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and U.S. Marshal Johnny Hughes.

On October 13, 2020, Piccirilli was arrested with his girlfriend, Kellie Warfield, age 29, of Mt. Airy, on criminal complaints charging Piccirilli with failing to surrender for service of sentence and Warfield with aiding and abetting.  They both had initial appearances in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on October 14, 2020, and were ordered to be detained and transported to Maryland.

The National Firearms Act regulates certain firearms, known as “NFA firearms,” such as short-barreled rifles; fully automatic firearms; firearms that can be readily made fully automatic; and parts that can make a firearm fully automatic.  Individuals may not possess an NFA firearm that is not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR), nor can a person sell or transfer an NFA firearm without the prior approval of the ATF.

According to his guilty plea, on October 5, 2018, Piccirilli took an MKE 5.56mm caliber firearm, which had been altered to convert it into a fully automatic short-barreled rifle, bringing the firearm under the regulation of the NFA, to the home of another individual, who was a licensed gun dealer in Maryland.  Piccirilli, formerly a police officer in Brunswick, Maryland, legally owned non-NFA firearms and had the skill and expertise to convert non-NFA firearms into NFA firearms.  Piccirilli admitted that the firearm belonged to him, but it was not registered to him, in violation of the NFA.

According to information presented to the Court, Piccirilli tried to launder the unregistered firearm by attempting to have the gun dealer register the illegal firearm and/or sell it, so that the sale of the gun would appear to be legal. In December 2018, Piccirilli attempted to sell the firearm to an ATF undercover agent without ATF’s prior approval and in text messages and recorded calls tried to conceal the nature of the transaction.  On December 14, 2018, as Piccirilli left his house to complete the transaction, he was apprehended by ATF agents.  Investigators executed search warrants on his house and two vehicles, seizing 10 unregistered fully automatic firearms, one unregistered short-barreled rifle, and seven unregistered silencers.

Piccirilli pled guilty to possession of an unregistered NFA weapon and was sentenced on January 13, 2020, to 30 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  He was ordered to remain on home monitoring and report to Bureau of Prisons custody by March 16, 2020.  Instead, Piccirilli disabled his ankle bracelet and fled from Maryland with Warfield on January 24, 2020.  ATF Baltimore Special Agents, assisted by U.S. Deputy Marshals from Baltimore, conducted an investigation to locate the couple, tracking multiple potential areas of the country and ultimately developing information that Piccirilli and Warfield were residing and working in the Harrison County area of Indiana.  Search and arrest warrants were executed on October 13, 2020, in New Salisbury, Indiana, where the defendants were taken into custody, and in Ramsey, Indiana, where the couple was residing.  ATF Special Agents executing the search warrants recovered ammunition and multiple firearms.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.  Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.        

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF in Baltimore and Louisville, and the U.S. Marshals Service, for their work in locating and arresting Piccirilli and Warfield, and thanked the Southeast Indiana Regional SWAT Team, the Indiana State Police, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana for their assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia C. McLane and Brandon Moore, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland – Former Correctional Dietary Officer Chanel Pierce, age 27, of Pikesville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a federal racketeering conspiracy in connection with her work at the Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI).  The conspiracy included former correctional officers, inmates, and outside “facilitators,” for paying bribes to correctional officers to smuggle contraband, including narcotics, alcohol, tobacco, and cell phones into the prison. 

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Secretary Robert Green, of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

“Corrupt correctional officers endanger the lives of their co-workers and of the inmates entrusted to their care and supervision,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “They also endanger the entire community, as prisoners can use contraband cell phones to direct criminal activity outside prison walls.  The United States Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out prison corruption and prosecute correctional officers who abuse their positions of trust to facilitate and engage in criminal behavior.”

“The public expects its correctional officers to guard the wall that divides those who are in prison from the community. Chanel Pierce violated that trust and allowed a free flow of criminal activity in and out of the prison,” said Jennifer Boone, Special Agent in Charge of the Baltimore Field Office of the FBI.  “Today’s guilty plea shows that no one in a position of public trust who carries out a criminal conspiracy is beyond the reach of the dedicated agents, officers and detectives from our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.” 

JCI was a maximum-security prison that housed approximately 1,800 male inmates, with approximately 423 Correctional Officers (COs).

According to her plea agreement, from at least 2017 until her arrest earlier this year, Pierce conspired with other COs, inmates, and outside facilitators to smuggle contraband into JCI, including narcotics, alcohol, tobacco, and cell phones, in order to enrich themselves and protect and expand their criminal operation.  According to the plea agreement and other court documents, COs accepted or agreed to accept payments from facilitators and/or inmates or engaged in sexual relations with inmates as consideration for smuggling contraband into JCI.  Inmates acted as both wholesalers and retailers of contraband and in the process made profits that far exceeded the profits that could be made by selling similar drugs on the street.  For example, conspirator inmates could purchase Suboxone strips for approximately $3 each and sell them inside JCI for approximately $50 each, or for a profit of more than 1,000 percent. 

As detailed in her plea agreement, Pierce conspired with inmates and outside facilitators to smuggle contraband, including controlled dangerous substances, such as Suboxone, into JCI and then distribute the contraband to inmates.  Pierce met with outside facilitators at her residence and elsewhere to obtain contraband for smuggling.  Pierce would then conceal the contraband on her person, smuggle it into JCI and distribute it to JCI inmates.  Pierce admitted that she did this regularly while employed at the facility.

In exchange for smuggling the contraband, Pierce received thousands of dollars in bribe payments, which were sent to her by co-conspirators on behalf of JCI inmates.  The memo line of the payments would often include the name or nickname of the inmate on whose behalf the bribe was made.  For example, on April 12, 2019, Pierce received a $500 bribe payment from a co-conspirator along with the message “for Boosie,” who was JCI inmate Marshall Hill.  Pierce transferred most of the bribe payments to her personal bank accounts and used the funds for her own benefit.

Early on the morning of May 25, 2019, Pierce met with a co-defendant outside facilitator at her home and obtained several balloons filled with controlled substances to smuggle into JCI.  Pierce then went to work and was stopped by law enforcement as she entered the facility and searched.  Law enforcement recovered a concealed purple balloon from Pierce’s person containing Suboxone.  A subsequent search of Pierce’s home revealed several more balloons filled with contraband that she intended to smuggle into JCI.

Pierce faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the racketeering conspiracy.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for January 8, 2021, at 2:00 p.m.

Co-defendant inmates Page Boyd, age 35, and Marshall Hill, a/k/a “Boosie,” age 28, have pleaded guilty to their roles in the racketeering conspiracy and are scheduled to be sentenced on November 23, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. and December 2, 2020 at 2:30 p.m., respectively.  Co-defendant facilitator Trinesse Butts, age 36, of Parkville, Maryland has also pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 23, 2020, at 10:30 a.m.

The U.S. Attorney expressed appreciation to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, whose staff initiated the JCI investigation and have been full partners in this investigation. United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Burden H. Walker and Lauren E. Perry, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

                                    # # #            

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar today sentenced MS-13 gang member Albaro Rosa Moreno, a/k/a Slow, age 24, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to 30 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities, including two murders. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge John Eisert of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Office; Acting Chief Patrick Grossman of the Frederick City Police Department; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith, III; Chief William Lowry of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess; Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha N. Braveboy; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

“The violence perpetrated by MS-13 members in our communities is totally unacceptable—especially the extreme and barbaric violence such a beheading and dismemberment that is a calling card of the MS-13 gang.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland and our local and state partners are committed to keeping our communities safe from the violent threat of MS-13,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “We continue to work with our counterparts here and abroad to prevent gang violence and bring to justice those who bring danger to our streets.  We need the continued help of members of our communities in order to carry on our work against MS-13.”

“Albaro Rosa Moreno thought he could steal lives and escape unscathed. Today’s sentencing should send a message to MS-13 members and their associates that medieval-style violence and senseless murder will not be tolerated,” said Jennifer C. Boone, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office “The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue gangs wherever they surface and we are steadfast in our commitment to making Maryland a safe place for the people who call it home.”

MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County, Maryland.  Rosa Moreno admitted that from at least January 2017, he was a member and associate of the Parkview Locos Salvatrucha (PVLS) clique of MS-13.

At all times of this conspiracy, members of MS-13 were expected to protect the name, reputation, and status of the gang from rival gang members and other persons.  To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members were expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who showed disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence.  MS-13 had mottos consistent with its rules, beliefs, expectations and reputation including “mata, viola, controla,” which translates as, “kill, rape, control,” and “ver, oir y callar,” which means, “see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing.”

MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang, as well as against rival gang members.  Participation in criminal activity by a member, particularly in violent acts directed at rival gangs or as directed by gang leadership, increase the respect accorded to that member, resulting in that member maintaining or increasing his position in the gang, and opens the door to a promotion to a leadership position.  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, often referred to as “chavalas,” whenever possible. 

According to his plea agreement, in March 2017, Rosa Moreno participated in the murder of Victim 13.  MS-13 gang members had decided that Victim 13 had betrayed the gang because he was in a relation with a female who they believed to be associated with the 18th Street Gang, a rival of MS-13.  Under the ruse that they were going to a party, on March 31, 2017, MS-13 gang members brought Victim 13 to Wheaton Regional Park in Wheaton, Maryland.  Other gang members had dug a grave and gathered weapons at that location.  When Victim 13 arrived, Rosa Moreno and other MS-13 gang members attacked him with a machete and knives until he was dead.  Victim 13’s body was then beheaded, dismembered, and buried in the grave. 

In September 2017, investigators recovered Victim 13’s body from a clandestine grave in Wheaton, Maryland.  The medical examiner found that the cause of death was homicide.  The body had suffered numerous blunt and sharp force traumas, the victim’s head had been severed, and his heart had been removed.    

As detailed in his plea agreement, April 2017, Rosa Moreno assisted with the murder of Victim 14, whom Rosa Moreno and his fellow gang members believed was a member of a rival gang.  Gang members found Victim 14 in Silver Spring, Maryland.  After they confirmed that he was a member of a rival gang – based on a review of his phone and tattoos – they arranged with other gang members to identify a place in Frederick, Maryland where the victim could be killed.  The MS-13 gang members then contacted other gang members (from the Fulton, PVLS, and other cliques) to arrange to transport Victim 14 to Frederick.  Rosa Moreno and other gang members also traveled from Silver Spring to Frederick.  MS-13 gang members brought Victim 14 to the Frederick City Watershed off Gambrill Park Road in Frederick, Maryland, where they had dug a grave and gathered weapons.  When Victim 14 arrived, gang members hit him with a tree branch and other gang members attacked him with a machete and knives until he was dead.  Victim 14’s body was then dismembered and buried in the grave.  Although Rosa Moreno assisted with the murder of Victim 14, he was not permitted to directly participate because he had actively participated in the murder of Victim 13 just a few days before.  In June 2017, the remains of Victim 14 were found in the shallow grave where he had been buried.      

The murders of Victim 13 and Victim 14 were intended to maintain and increase the status of MS-13 and allow Rosa Moreno and other MS-13 members to maintain or increase their status within the gang.    

A total of 30 defendants have been charged in this case with participating in a racketeering conspiracy and/or other crimes related to their association with MS-13.  A total of 19 defendants, including Rosa Moreno, have pleaded guilty to crimes related to their participation in MS-13 gang activities.

Anyone with information about MS-13 is encouraged to provide their tips to law enforcement.  The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations both have nationwide tiplines that you can call to report what you know.  You can reach the FBI at 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or you can call HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.                   

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI; HSI; the Frederick City Police Department; the Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County Police Departments; and the Anne Arundel, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County State’s Attorneys for their work in the investigation, and recognized the Baltimore County Police Department for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark, Catherine K. Dick, and Matthew DellaBetta, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III today sentenced James Robert Wissmann, IV, age 35, of Baltimore, Maryland, formerly a police officer with the Baltimore City Police Department, to 78 months in federal prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for possession of child pornography.  Judge Russell also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Wissmann must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officials suspended Wissmann on July 31, 2019, after a search at his residence. Wissmann subsequently resigned from the BPD.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, starting no later than July 2017, using fake names and fake e-mail addresses, Wissmann created accounts on a mobile application that allows users to join a “room” where they can message, video chat, watch videos and images, and share files, and used those accounts to distribute and receive files of child pornography and to discuss the sexual exploitation of children.  The application monitored the activity on its platform and identified Wissmann’s accounts as sharing contraband files, shut down Wissmann’s accounts, and subsequently submitted reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”).  Each time Wissmann’s accounts were shut down, Wissmann created a new account, using fake names and e-mail addresses, and continued to share child pornography and discuss child exploitation.

In 2018 and 2019, Wissmann created at least seven separate accounts on the application after being banned based on trafficking in child pornography.  On October 11, 2018, the application sent five reports to NCMEC relating to child exploitation activity in Wissmann’s account.  All five reports contained images that depict naked prepubescent females. 

As detailed in his plea agreement, Wissmann took a variety of steps to avoid detection by the online platforms and law enforcement.  Those steps included the use of fake names and e-mail addresses when creating accounts; the purchase of a Virtual Private Network account (a service that lets a user access the web privately by routing the connection through a server and hiding the user’s online actions); the use of the Tor anonymity network (used to conceal a user’s location, usage, and identity); regularly deleting, reinstalling, and then deleting various applications; and by using a file-wiping utility to permanently delete files.

On July 31, 2019, investigators executed a search warrant at Wissmann’s residence and seized Wissmann’s laptop computer, removable digital media, and mobile phones, which he used to commit the offense.  During a forensic examination of the seized items, investigators found images and videos of child pornography on Wissmann’s laptop, including images depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.       

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Baltimore City Police Department, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur today announced $2,505,686 in Department of Justice grants to seven entities in Maryland to fund crime laboratories, decrease DNA backlogs, support basic and applied forensic research, and help law enforcement identify missing persons, as part of $192 million in funding to advance forensic science nationwide.

In addition, U.S. Attorney Hur announced that Baltimore County received $1,129,288 in Department of Justice grants to help law enforcement agencies and crime labs process sexual assault evidence and increase the number of sexual assault kits submitted to crime labs in order to solve more crimes, including cold cases, as part of more than $45 million in funding to support the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI).

The grants, totaling $3,634,974, were awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP).

“These grants will be used by local jurisdictions in Maryland to advance evidence processing, fund crime labs, decrease backlogs in DNA and sexual assault kit processing, and help identify missing persons,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Hopefully, this will allow law enforcement to solve more crimes, including cold case sexual assaults, and bring justice to victims and their families.”

“Developments in forensic science have given investigators an extraordinary array of tools that can be enlisted to solve crimes and bring answers to victims and survivors, often after many years and even decades,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “These investments in crime-fighting technology, from DNA analysis to drug toxicology to forensic anthropology, will help identify and convict perpetrators, ensure justice for innocent victims and keep communities safe by deterring future criminal activity.”

Since 2004, the Office of Justice Programs has received an annual appropriation for DNA and other forensic science activities. The funding, administered through OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and National Institute of Justice, supports DNA analysis, laboratory capacity enhancement and forensic science research that provides knowledge and tools to improve the quality and practice of forensic science.

The following organizations received federal funding to advance forensic science:

• Baltimore County received $227,697
• Anne Arundel County received $228,151
• Montgomery County received $213,151
• Prince George’s County received $686,869
• Baltimore City received $389,256
• Maryland State Police received $434,484
• The Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention received $326,078
  
  OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance also made 36 grants to strengthen jurisdictions’ capacity to act on evidence resulting from rape kits, and three grants to the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence ‒ Inventory, Tracking and Reporting (SAFE-ITR) program.

  
  The award of $1,129,288 made to Baltimore County will support law enforcement and prosecutorial activities related to the testing and use of evidence obtained in sexual assault investigations.

  “Far too many people endure the physical and emotional trauma of a sexual assault only to have evidence of the crime remain unanalyzed,” said Katharine T. Sullivan, OJP’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General. “These grants will help investigators get these kits to labs, where they can be tested, used to solve crimes and ultimately bring justice to victims.”

  For a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and jurisdictions that will receive funding, click here.

  More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Victor Demattia, age 64, of Mechanicsville, Maryland, yesterday to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing more than $400,000 in Civil Service Retirement benefits and Social Security benefits.  Judge Messitte also entered an order requiring Demattia to forfeit and to pay a money judgment in the amount of $409,421.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration; and Norbert E. Vint, Deputy Inspector General Performing the Duties of the Inspector General, of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – Office of Inspector General (OIG).

“By not reporting his mother’s death and continuing to accept and use her retirement benefits, Victor Demattia stole more than $400,000 from the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Federal agents and prosecutors have a duty to pursue perpetrators of such crimes and try to recover money stolen from the United States Treasury.”

“The OPM OIG applauds the efforts of our investigators and law enforcement partners for their hard work on this case,” said Norbert E. Vint, Deputy Inspector General Performing the Duties of the Inspector General, OPM OIG.  “Ensuring that tax payer funds are used for their designated purpose helps ensure the integrity of the system.”  

According to Demattia’s plea agreement, from February 2009 through June 2018, Demattia stole monthly Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension payments and Social Security Retirement Insurance Benefit (RIB) payments intended for his mother after her death, resulting in a loss to the United States Government of $409,421.

As detailed in Demattia’s plea agreement, at the time of his mother’s death, she was receiving CSRS pension payments from OPM and RIB payments from SSA by direct deposit to a joint account held by Demattia and his mother. When his mother died, Demattia did not notify SSA or OPM of her death, and as a result, SSA and OPM continued to make monthly deposits into the joint bank account. Demattia admitted that he withdrew the CSRS and RIB funds each month, typically by checks he endorsed, payable to himself or to his now-defunct medical transport business, Patriot Medical Transport.  

On March 5, 2019, during an interview conducted by agents of the SSA Office of Inspector General and OPM Office of Inspector General, Demattia admitted that he spent his mother’s RIB and CSRS payments after her death.  He stated that he knew he was not entitled to the money, but spent the fund to cover expenses for his failing business such as payroll, fuel, receivables, and other operating expenses, as well as on personal expenses through debit card purchases after the closure of his business.

In total, Demattia stole $369,018 from OPM and $40,403 from SSA after his mother’s death.                  

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the SSA Office of Inspector General and OPM Office of Inspector General for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Davio, who prosecuted the case.

# # #

A Baltimore, Maryland, man was sentenced today to 138 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release for federal charges of conspiring to participate in a violent racketeering enterprise known as Trained To Go (TTG), and for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. 

Roger Taylor, aka Milk, 28, a fugitive since July 2017, was arrested on June 30, 2019, and sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake.  Taylor previously pleaded guilty to racketeering activities including narcotics distribution and robbery of rival drug dealers and gang members in TTG territory.

As detailed in his plea agreement, Taylor was associated with a drug trafficking organization that operated in the Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore.  Taylor was a self-identified member of a group known as the “Young Go Getters” (YGG), which assisted members and associates of the drug trafficking organization in their activities.  As of 2014, the organization became known as TTG.  Taylor, along with other members of YGG, provided support to TTG in the form of money, drugs, and other types of assistance, such as providing a vehicle to TTG members looking for several individuals that had robbed a TTG member of narcotics.  Further, Taylor and his co-conspirators agreed that each of them would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity.  

On Aug. 10, 2015, Postal Inspectors interdicted four packages addressed to a fictitious residence and addressee in Windsor Mill, Maryland.  Because of the false address and name, the packages could not be delivered.  Taylor, in an effort to obtain the packages, contacted the post office and requested the packages be re-delivered to a different address in Windsor Mill.  Additional investigation revealed that the four packages contained 9.9 kilograms of cocaine.

During the course of the conspiracy, the quantity of cocaine within the scope of Taylor’s agreement with his co-conspirators and reasonably foreseeable to Taylor was the equivalent of between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine.

The leader of the gang, Montana Barronette, aka Tana, and Tanner, 23, and his brother, Terrell Sivells, aka Rell, 27, both of Baltimore, were each sentenced to life in prison on Feb. 15 and April 26, 2019, respectively.  Co-defendants Brandon Wilson, aka Ali, 24, and Taurus Tillman, aka Tash, age 30, both of Baltimore, were each sentenced to 25 years in prison on March 1 and May 21, 2019, respectively.  Two other co-defendants, John Harrison, aka Binkie, 28, and Linton Broughton, aka Marty, 25, both from Baltimore, were sentenced to life in prison and to 30 years in prison, respectively, on March 15, 2019.  Three other TTG members previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to between five and 25 years in prison.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, which includes FBI special agents and task force officers from the Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County Police Departments.  FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force is responsible for identifying and targeting the most violent gangs in the Baltimore metropolitan area, to address gang violence and the associated homicides in Baltimore.  The vision of the program is to use federal racketeering statutes to disrupt and dismantle significant violent criminal threats and criminal enterprises affecting the safety and well-being of our citizens and our communities. 

This case was further assisted by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.  NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles.  For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.             

The Justice Department commended the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the ATF, the DEA, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in these investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Romano, Daniel C. Gardner, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Hanley formerly of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel yesterday sentenced Saulina Helen Eady, age 38, of Los Angeles, California, to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain goods using what appeared to be a military e-mail address, but was actually a registered Yahoo e-mail address.  Judge Hazel also entered an order requiring Eady to forfeit and to pay restitution in the full amount of one of the victim’s losses, which is $640,172.80.  Eady has been detained since her arrest in October 2018.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig, Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Special Agent in Charge John Eisert of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Special Agent in Charge Nasir Khan of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement's Washington Field Office. 

According to Eady’s plea agreement, a co-conspirator established and used what was purported to be a U.S. Navy e-mail address, authentic forms, titles, addresses and other indicia to pose as A U.S. government contracting agent and fraudulently obtain merchandise, including large-screen televisions, specialized communications equipment, cellular telephones and computers.  Much of the fraud scheme was conducted from outside the United States, including from Nigeria.  Three victim companies—one that provided wireless voice and data services that was headquartered in Washington State, one that was a wholesale audio-video distributor and manufacturer’s representative located in Virginia, and a defense contractor that designed, manufactured, and marketed communications equipment that was headquartered in Maryland—shipped merchandise, without prior payment, to Eady’s East Coast co-conspirators.  Those individuals then shipped the stolen items to Eady and others on the West Coast.

Specifically, Eady admitted that from October 2015 until March 2017, she assisted in receiving, transporting, and storing the stolen televisions, ostensibly on behalf of the United States government, by renting trucks and transporting the stolen televisions to storage locations in the Los Angeles area, where Eady and others had rented storage units.  Following the sale of the televisions, Eady was paid in cash for receiving and moving the televisions.  According to her plea agreement, the organization obtained approximately 2,109 televisions over the course of the scheme, and the number of televisions and loss attributable to Eady is 493 televisions worth at least $1,181,290.80, but no more than $3.5 million.

However, based on bank records, surveillance footage, financial and business records of the victim companies, and other information, the Court determined at the sentencing that the loss foreseeable to Saulina Eady was between $1.5 million and $3.5 million.

Of the nine defendants charged in this case, seven have pleaded guilty to their roles in the fraud scheme, including Saulina Eady.  In February 2020, Saulina’s brother, Saul Eady was sentenced to four years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of $640,127.80.  One defendant, Eunice Nkongho, is scheduled for trial in December, and one defendant, Peter Unakalu, is a fugitive.                  

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement for their work in the investigation, and thanked the FBI Washington Field Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for their assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer R. Sykes and Joseph R. Baldwin, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake today sentenced Roger Taylor, a/k/a Milk, age 28, of Baltimore, to 138 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for the federal charges of conspiring to participate in a violent racketeering enterprise known as Trained To Go (TTG), and for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Taylor, a fugitive since July 2017, was arrested on June 30, 2019.  The racketeering activities to which Taylor pleaded guilty are: narcotics distribution and robberies of other individuals, including rival drug dealers and gang members in TTG territory.  

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; U.S. Marshal Johnny Hughes; Postal Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Anne Arundel County Police Chief William Lowry; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.

“Roger Taylor and his fellow gang members brought violence and misery to West Baltimore, in the form of murders, armed robberies, and drug dealing.  Taylor will now likely spend over a decade in federal prison, where there is no parole—ever,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute criminals who are terrorizing our neighborhoods who will then face the reality of years spent in a federal prison far from home.”

"This case goes to show that no matter how long it takes, the FBI will work to get justice for the victims,” said Jennifer C. Boone, special agent in charge of the Baltimore Division. “The cooperation with our local, national, and international partners should send a message to those committing crimes that we will find you."

According to his plea agreement, Taylor was associated with a drug trafficking organization that operated in the Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore.  As part of the conspiracy, each defendant agreed that a conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity.  Taylor was self-identified member of a group, known as the “Young Go Getters” (YGG), which assisted members and associates of the criminal enterprise in their activities.  As of 2014, the organization became known as “Trained To Go” or “TTG.”   

As detailed in his plea agreement, Taylor, who referred to himself as YGG Milk, along with other members of YGG, provided support to TTG in the form of money, drugs, and other assistance.  For example, on January 22, 2016, law enforcement learned that two members of TTG were looking for several individuals that had robbed a member of TTG of a small quantity of narcotics.  The two members of TTG were spotted by law enforcement driving in the area of the 2500 block of West Lafayette Avenue in west Baltimore.  In an effort to escape the police, the occupants of the car fled after crashing into a snow bank.  Investigation revealed the car had been provided to them by Taylor.

On August 10, 2015, Postal Inspectors interdicted four packages addressed to a fictitious addressee in Windsor Mill, Maryland.  Because the address was also a false address, the packages could not be delivered.  Taylor, in an effort to obtain the packages, contacted the post office and requested the packages be re-delivered to a different address in Windsor Mill.  Additional investigation revealed that the four packages contained 9.9 kilograms of cocaine.

During the course of the conspiracy, the quantity of cocaine within the scope of Taylor’s agreement with his co-conspirators and reasonably foreseeable as to Taylor was equivalent to between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine.

The leader of the gang, Montana Barronette, a/k/a Tana, and Tanner, age 25, his brother, Terrell Sivells, a/k/a Rell, age 29, and John Harrison, a/k/a Binkie, age 30, all of Baltimore, were each sentenced to life in prison.  Three other co-defendants, Linton Broughton, a/k/a Marty, age 27, Dennis Pulley, a/k/a Denmo, age 33, and Timothy Floyd, a/k/a Tim Rod, age 30, all from Baltimore, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison.  Co-defendants Brandon Wilson, a/k/a Ali, age 26, and Taurus Tillman, a/k/a Tash, age 31, both of Baltimore, were each sentenced to 25 years in prison.  Three other TTG members previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to between five and 25 years in prison.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, which includes FBI special agents and task force officers from the Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County Police Departments.  FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force is responsible for identifying and targeting the most violent gangs in the Baltimore metropolitan area, to address gang violence and the associated homicides in Baltimore.  The vision of the program is to use federal racketeering statutes to disrupt and dismantle significant violent criminal threats and criminal enterprises affecting the safety and well-being of our citizens and our communities.      

This case was further assisted by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.  NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles.  For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.  

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.               

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur and Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt commended the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the ATF, the DEA, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in these investigations.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Romano, Daniel C. Gardner, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Hanley formerly of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur today announced awards of $9,380,000 in Department of Justice grants to support mentoring services for youth and to protect children from abuse, exploitation and threats such as sex trafficking. The awards were made by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Office for Victims of Crime, part of the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs.

“One of the best ways to stop violent crime is to equip young people with the skills necessary to meet the challenges they face,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “The organizations receiving these funds support youth and provide mentorships and strategies to help them to excel in any situation.”

“Young people in America face an array of challenges, from social and academic pressures to dangerous predators and lethal drugs. They are better equipped to meet those challenges with a model of care and compassion to guide them along,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “These awards will support outstanding youth-serving organizations like the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs and their local affiliates across the country as they help youth discover their talents, find their purpose and realize their full potential. We are incredibly grateful to our mentorship programs, both nationally and locally. Badges in Blue and Badges for Baseball are great examples of successful community partnerships through law enforcement and mentoring.”

Today’s awards in Maryland are part of more than $261 million going to organizations and agencies across the country. Grants from OJP’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention will allow national, state and local organizations to provide mentoring to youth who are at risk of juvenile delinquency, victimization and juvenile justice system involvement. Mentoring programs supported by OJJDP help youth make connections with leaders and respected members of their communities, including law enforcement officers. Police and sheriffs’ departments have formed close and lasting bonds with young citizens, leading to greater trust and respect between law enforcement professionals and community members. Grants also address the impact of the addiction crisis on children and teens. Funds support mentoring in rural and other underserved communities hit hard by the opioid epidemic.

In addition, more than 100 sites are receiving grants from OJJDP and OVC to help find missing children, investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, serve abused and neglected children, and assist minor victims of human trafficking.

The following organizations in Maryland received funding:

• The National 4-H Council received $3 million for national mentoring programs and $1.25 million for statewide and regional mentoring initiatives for youth impacted by opioids and drug addiction;
• The U.S. Dream Academy received $2.3 million, and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation received $2.23 million for multi-state mentoring programs; and
• The Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore received $600,000 for mentoring strategies for youth impacted by opioid and drug addiction.
   
  For a complete list of individual grant programs, amounts to be awarded and the jurisdictions that will receive funding, visit here and here.
   
  Additional information about Fiscal Year 2020 grant awards made by the Office of Justice Programs can be found online at the OJP Awards Data webpage
  
  More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
   

Baltimore, Maryland – Frank William Robertson Perry, age 39, of Dundalk, Maryland, has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint, charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.  According to court documents, Perry has been identified by law enforcement as a member of the Boogaloo Movement.  “Boogaloo” is a term referencing a violent uprising or impending civil war, and is sometimes used by militia extremists and racially or ethnically motivated extremists.  Perry was arrested late on October 7, 2020.  A virtual initial appearance is scheduled in U.S. District Court in Baltimore at 4:00 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson.

The arrest was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division.

According to the criminal complaint and court documents, a search warrant was executed at Perry’s residence, which he shares with his girlfriend.  Agents recovered from the bedroom: a black tactical vest containing two ballistic plates on the interior of the vest; two loaded rifle magazines located in pouches affixed to the exterior of the vest; a third loaded rifle magazine located on top of the vest; an AM-15 rifle which was partially concealed behind a nightstand; eight rounds of .223-caliber ammunition located in the nightstand; and other firearms-related accessories.

As detailed in the criminal complaint, Perry’s girlfriend was in the home at the time of the search and agreed to speak with agents.  She advised that she had purchased the AM-15 lower receiver in April at the suggestion of Perry, who said that she needed the weapon for self-defense.  She told agents that she learned Perry was obtaining firearms parts and shipping them to the residence in her name, and law enforcement found that the items were purchased using Perry’s credit card.  In addition, Perry’s girlfriend stated that she had not been involved in building the rifle—that was done by Perry and a neighbor.  Perry was arrested while he was en route to the residence. 

According to court documents, Perry is prohibited from possessing firearms and/or ammunition as a result of a previous felony conviction.  Investigation revealed that while the firearm is registered to Perry’s girlfriend, a review of her social media indicates no apparent interest or involvement with firearms, hunting, the Second Amendment, or the Boogaloo Movement, nor was there any record of Perry’s girlfriend ever having a hunting license, or any other firearms registered in her name.  In contrast, as detailed in the court documents, Perry’s social media reflects a substantial interest in firearms and militia extremist activities.

If convicted, Perry faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes the ATF, for their work in the investigation and thanked the Baltimore County Police Department for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O. Gavin and P. Michael Cunningham, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow today sentenced John Wright III, age 36, of Edgewood, Maryland, to 30 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for production of child pornography.  Judge Chasanow also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Wright must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge John Eisert of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler; Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Harford County State’s Attorney Albert Peisinger.

According to his guilty plea, between December 2016 and January 2018, Wright sexually abused two minor female victims and was convicted in Harford County Circuit Court for two counts of sex abuse of a minor.  The investigation also revealed that Wright produced sexually explicit images of one of the victims, who was nine-years-old at the time.  In addition, Wright distributed at least one such visual depiction to another person in exchange for other child pornography.  The investigation showed that Wright possessed and stored numerous images of child pornography on two cell phones and in cloud storage via the Internet. 

As detailed in his plea agreement, between May and December 2017, Wright posted ads on an Internet marketplace requesting sexual services and referencing children, including ads looking for “pics/vids” of children.  On December 3, 2017, Wright was contacted by Keith Taylor in reference to one of his ads.  The communication between the two men was conducted through a mobile messaging application.  During their conversations Wright offered to “pay for good links” of “kids or infant.”  Taylor responded that he liked to trade.  Taylor and Wright exchanged videos and Wright offered to send a sexually explicit image Wright had produced of the nine-year-old victim to Taylor, which he did.  Over the course of several conversations, Taylor requested pornographic videos of the victim and requested that Wright have the victim “strip.”  Wright agreed to try but requested “better” images from Taylor.  Taylor sent Wright multiple links to child pornography stored on one of Taylor’s cloud storage accounts.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant on two of Wright’s cloud storage accounts, which revealed that Wright had saved 124 child pornography videos and numerous still images of child pornography.

In a separate case, on December 10, 2018, Judge Chasanow sentenced Keith Edward Taylor, age 33, of Kingsville, Maryland, to 27 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for production of child pornography. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.       

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI-Baltimore, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland State Police, and the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked the Harford County Child Advocacy Center for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Maddox, who prosecuted the federal case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Jesus Chaidez-Meza, age 40, residing in Baltimore, to 12 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.  Chaidez-Meza, a Mexican national, is a permanent legal resident of the United States.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; and Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

“Drug dealing on the scale practiced by the Sinaloa cartel members in Baltimore fuels the violence that plagues the City,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “The Mexican Sinaloa cartel is one of the most dangerous international drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime syndicates threatening Americans today.  By funneling wholesale quantities of drugs into the United States, the Sinaloa cartel drives up fatal overdoses and the gun violence in our streets that comes with the drug trade.  We will continue to root out and bring to justice drug traffickers who bring deadly drugs to our neighborhoods and profit from the scourge of addiction.”

“The existence and influence of Mexican Drug Cartels in the city of Baltimore was well established through this investigation,” stated DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene.  “These relationships only further compound the challenges we already face in this city.  With our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we will endeavor to dismantle any organization that seeks to establish drug distribution networks in the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. “ 

According to evidence presented at his five-day trial, Chaidez-Meza was recruited and sent to Baltimore during the summer of 2016 to oversee drug distribution operations conducted by the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.  His ability to lease premises and purchase vehicles for use in the drug operations made him well suited for spearheading this particular Sinaloa cell.  He maintained a presence in the Baltimore area through the Spring of 2017, when two large money seizures by DEA agents and task force officers resulted in the cell changing personnel.

Testimony at trial showed that the Sinaloa cartel has been distributing large quantities of cocaine in the Baltimore area for years.  The cartel uses various “cells” to accomplish its drug distribution, with truck drivers transporting drugs to the east coast and millions of dollars in drug proceeds to the west coast.  Chaidez-Meza helped to manage the cell in Baltimore.  Cartel members provided funds to Chaidez-Meza to purchase a car and to rent an apartment from which he conducted the illegal cartel business.  According to trial evidence, Chaidez-Meza worked with another individual, known only as Chu-Chi.  Chu-Chi was responsible for the distribution of cocaine to local customers and Chaidez-Meza was responsible for the collection of the proceeds of the sales.

Witnesses testified that from September through December 2016, trucks arrived monthly with loads of 60-70 kilograms of cocaine.  The driver then transported money back to California, where it was unloaded, and ultimately sent to Mexico.  In December 2016, the driver arrived in Baltimore without drugs.  On December 11, 2016, Chaidez-Meza and Chu-Chi delivered bags of money to the driver, which the driver packed in a hidden compartment in the tractor portion of the truck, and began driving west.  Law enforcement officers stopped the truck just outside Hagerstown, Maryland and recovered $1.2 million from the hidden compartment, representing the proceeds from the sale of approximately 35 kilograms of cocaine.

According to trial evidence, shortly after the seizure, Chaidez-Meza returned to Mexico, but resurfaced in Baltimore in the Spring of 2017, when he terminated the lease on his apartment and sold the car he had purchased, in an effort to cover his tracks and liquidate any remaining assets.

The evidence proved that over the course of the conspiracy, Chaidez-Meza was responsible for the distribution of almost 250 kilograms of cocaine and the collection of millions of dollars in drug proceeds.                   

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the DEA in Baltimore and Los Angeles, California and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Jeffrey J. Izant, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Kenneth Wayne Hart, a/k/a Redds, Wayne Hawkins, Hawk, Big Daddy, Billy Reds, and Bill Red Hart, age 59, of Beltsville, Maryland, yesterday to 25 years in federal prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotics; a sex trafficking conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; and witness tampering.  Hart was convicted of those charges on March 12, 2020, after a seven-day jury trial.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

“As this case demonstrates, sex trafficking is a cruel business—often using violence and threats to control victims,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Working to end human trafficking is a priority for the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and we are proud to be one of the founding members of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, which brings together law enforcement, victim service providers and survivor advocates to help human trafficking victims and bring the traffickers to justice.”

According to the evidence presented at his seven-day trial, beginning in December 2016 and continuing until April 2017, Hart conspired with a co-conspirator to run a prostitution business using force, threats, fraud, and coercion to cause women to engage in commercial sex acts.  Hart and his co-conspirator also distributed narcotics, including to the women he recruited to work in the prostitution business.  The evidence proved that Hart recruited women to engage in commercial sex acts in Maryland and Washington, D.C.  Hart transported, photographed, and advertised the victims for commercial sex on websites set up for that purpose.  According to trial testimony, Hart also supplied the victims with heroin and crack cocaine on a daily basis and threatened to withhold—and did withhold—the narcotics if the victims displayed any sign of disobedience or tried to leave the locations where the commercial sex acts occurred.  According to trial evidence, in order to maintain control over the women he recruited to prostitute, Hart demanded that the women surrender to him their personal belongings, including identification cards, credit cards, cash, clothing, and cellular phones, and confiscated their earnings from the commercial sex acts.  As detailed in trial testimony, Hart installed a padlock on the bedroom door of a condominium Hart used for the prostitution business, and locked the victims in the room for hours or days at a time, using a daily combination of heroin and crack cocaine to control and coerce the victims.  Hart also used physical force, threatened physical force, and verbally abused the victims to force them to engage in prostitution against their will.  Even if the door to the bedroom was left open, the victims feared leaving the room and the condominium because they believed that Hart would find them no matter where they went, and that Hart would punish them for trying to leave him.

The jury also found that the evidence proved that Hart used physical force and threatened physical force to prevent an individual from communicating to a law enforcement officer information related to the commission or possible commission of a federal offense.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

The sex trafficking charges were investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), created in 2010 to combat child prostitution, with members from10 state and federal law enforcement agencies.  The Task Force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution. 

MCETF partners with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders.  Members include federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members.  For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_human.html.  

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, FBI, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer R. Sykes and Daniel C. Gardner, who prosecuted the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging 10 alleged members of the Eight Tray Gangsta (ETG) Crips gang in Baltimore with racketeering and drug conspiracies, murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, robbery, and related firearms charges.  The superseding indictment was returned on September 30, 2020, and unsealed upon the arrest of six of the defendants.  Four other defendants were already in custody.

The superseding indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “This is the second federal indictment filed in several weeks charging Baltimore gang members who terrorize their neighborhoods with drug dealing, gun violence, and witness intimidation.  We continue to root out the drivers of violent crime and deadly drug dealing and hold accountable those who bring them to our streets.  These defendants now face decades in federal prison, where there are no suspended sentences or parole—ever.  And witness intimidation and retaliation will not be tolerated—period.  We need the community’s help to continue these efforts.”

“Members of the ‘ETG’ Crips used violence as their calling card, leaving that card all over this neighborhood with a goal of flooding the streets with fear while they tried to tear down our neighborhoods. We cannot let them get away with it,” said Jennifer C. Boone, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “These indictments send a message to all gang members in West Baltimore and beyond – we will be relentless in our pursuit of violent gang members who have besieged communities like Lexington Terrace and the Baltimore Hilton neighborhood for far too long.”

The ETG Crips were a violent subset of the Crip gang that operated on the streets and in correctional facilities in Maryland and elsewhere.  For many years, the ETG Crips controlled the drug trade in particular territories in Baltimore City, including the area around the intersection between West Baltimore Street and South Hilton Street in West Baltimore (the “Baltimore Hilton neighborhood”), the area around the intersection between West Lexington Street and North Fremont Avenue (the “Lexington Terrace neighborhood”), and the area around the intersection between Frankford Avenue and Sinclair Lane in North Baltimore (the “Frankford Sinclair neighborhood”). 

The ETG Crips originated in Los Angeles, California in the 1970s, and derived their name from 83rd Street, where they were formed.  Within the ETG Crips, various cliques emerged corresponding to different neighborhoods in Los Angeles, such as the Baccwest ETG Crips in West Los Angeles and the Nutty North Side ETG Crips in North Los Angeles.  Eventually, the ETG Crips spread across the country, and they became prevalent in Maryland beginning in the 2000s.  In Baltimore, the ETG Crips members from the Baltimore Hilton and Lexington Terrace neighborhoods referred to themselves as the Baccwest ETG Crips—modeling themselves after the Baccwest ETG Crips in Los Angeles—and ETG Crips members from the Frankford Sinclair neighborhood called themselves the Nutty North Side ETG Crips.  The two groups allegedly work together for common criminal purposes.

The ETG Crips were organized hierarchically, with members climbing the ranks from “BG” (Baby Gangster), to “YG” (Young Gangster), to “G” (Gangster), to “OG” (Original Gangster), to “OOG” (Original Original Gangster), and so on.  ETG Crips members were required to follow certain rules of conduct.  Members who violated these rules or who disobeyed an order from a superior were subjected to disciplinary measures called “sanctions,” which ranged from fines to murder.  Violations that were punishable by murder included “snitching” (i.e., cooperating with law enforcement); “homosexuality”; and murdering a fellow Crip without a “greenlight” (i.e., authorization and approval from the gang leadership).

According to the 12-count superseding indictment, from at least 2008 through the date of the superseding indictment, the defendants participated in a racketeering conspiracy related to their gang activities, which included murder, robbery, drug distribution, witness tampering, and witness retaliation.

The superseding indictment alleges that the acting leader of the Baccwest ETG Crips in Baltimore was Trayvon Hall, who was referred to as a “G” of the gang.  In or about 2013, Hall flew to California to meet with West Coast leaders of the ETG Crips and gain their official approval for his Baccwest ETG Crips set in Baltimore.  The ETG Crips operated street-level drug distribution “shops” in Baltimore, distributing heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana, among other controlled substances.  Non-members who attempted to sell drugs in the ETG Crips’ territories were targeted for violence by ETG Crips members.  The gang’s primary drug shops were located in the Baltimore Hilton neighborhood (which the Baccwest ETG Crips considered to be their headquarters), the Lexington Terrace neighborhood, and the Franklin Sinclair neighborhood. 

The ETG Crips allegedly used social media websites to assert their claim to particular drug territories, intimidate rival gangs and witnesses against the gang, enhance the ETG Crips’ status, and enhance individual members’ status within the gang.  Members of the ETG Crips posted photographs and rap videos to these social media websites in which they flaunted firearms and threatened to kill those who stood in the way of the gang.

As detailed in the superseding indictment, the defendants sold drugs and committed robberies to earn money for the enterprise.  Members of the gang allegedly purchased, maintained, and circulated firearms, which they used to commit murders and robberies, and to further their drug trafficking activity.  For instance, from May 2016 through November 2016, ETG Crips conspired to murder members of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang who operated a rival drug shop in the Lexington Terrace neighborhood.  On June 23, 2016, ETG Crips members attempted to murder two BGF gang members, instead shooting two victims who were in the area at the time.  On July 18, 2016, Hall murdered BGF member Albert Pittman, shooting him to death in the 4800 block of Midline Road.  On November 11, 2016, in the 800 block of West Lexington Street, Hall opened fire on members of the rival BGF gang, murdering BGF member Shyheim Brown and wounding two other victims.  Immediately afterward, Hall sent an unindicted co-conspirator a series of text messages about the shooting, saying he had “Jus bashed the monkeys” (a derogatory term for members of BGF), and they “Wasn’t exspecting [sic] me be out early lmGCao [laughing my Gangster Crip ass off].”

Further, the superseding indictment alleges that from July 2017 through July 2019, members of the ETG Crips conspired to murder members of the Abington Avenue drug trafficking organization, whose territory the ETG Crips had taken over.  The ETG Crips allegedly murdered two members of the Abington Avenue organization and shot several others.  According to the superseding indictment, ETG members also threatened a witness who testified against a fellow gang member in a state murder trial, posting the witness’s photograph on social media, labeling the witness as a “snitch,” and threatening to kill that witness as retaliation.

The following defendants, all from Baltimore, are charged in the superseding indictment:

            Trayvon Hall, a/k/a Tru and G-Tru, age 29;             Ronnie Finney, a/k/a Fin, age 34;             Donnell Foster, a/k/a Fuss, age 30;             Daran Hickman, a/k/a Chizzle, age 28;             David Jackson, a/k/a Dev and Lil David, age 25;             Alvin Johnson, a/k/a Jug, age 29;             Keith Pinson, a/k/a Gotti, age 27;             Devon Powell, a/k/a Smuppy, age 29;             Ridgley Shipley, a/k/a Crazy, age 30; and
            Marcus Williams, a/k/a Gangsta C and GC, age 32.

If convicted, the defendants all face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the racketeering conspiracy and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison for the drug trafficking conspiracy.  Hall also faces a maximum sentence of death or life in federal prison for each of two counts of murder in aid of racketeering.  Powell faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering; Powell and Shipley face a maximum of life in prison for using, carrying, brandishing, and/or discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; Shipley faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of two counts of commercial robbery; and Shipley, Powell, and Hall face a maximum of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  The defendants had their initial appearances today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.  U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson ordered the defendants be detained pending detention hearings scheduled to begin on Friday, October 9, 2020.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.  NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles.  For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, the ATF, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, the Baltimore County Police Department and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina A. Hoffman and Peter J. Martinez, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur today announced $1,047,593 in Department of Justice grants to Howard County to assist human trafficking victims in Maryland.  The grants, awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, are part of almost $1.8 billion distributed to state victim assistance and compensation programs to fund thousands of local victim assistance programs across the country and to provide millions in compensation to victims of crime.

The Office for Victims of Crime, a component of the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, administers a flagship formula grant program supported by the Crime Victims Fund (the Fund), which was established under The Victims of Crime Act.  The Fund supports a broad array of programs and services that focus on helping victims in the immediate aftermath of crime and continuing to support them as they rebuild their lives. In FY 2019 alone, VOCA grants served over seven million victims and paid more than $399 million in compensation claims.

“Advocates, service providers, and law enforcement agencies from around the country stand ready to help crime victims exercise their legal rights and reclaim their lives,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “These new funding resources continue this administration’s unprecedented commitment to providing the support necessary for victims of crimes to be able to heal and recover.”

“I am so pleased that Howard County has received funds to support their collaborative task force to end human trafficking and to provide services to victims of this terrible crime,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Through these local task forces, as well as the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, local, state and federal law enforcement partners are working with non-profit organizations to help human trafficking victims and prosecute the traffickers.  Working to end human trafficking is a priority for the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

The awards made to organizations in Maryland and other states will support local direct victim service programs, including children’s advocacy centers, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, human trafficking and elder abuse programs, civil legal services, crime victims’ rights enforcement, as well as victim assistance positions in prosecutors’ offices and law enforcement departments.

State victim compensation programs will receive over $133 million to supplement the state funds that offset victims’ financial burdens resulting from crime. This compensation is often extremely vital to victims who face enormous financial setbacks from medical fees, lost income, dependent care, funeral expenses and other costs.

“The services made available by this funding represent a lifeline for tens of thousands of survivors each month, many of whom otherwise would have no place to turn in a moment of profound crisis,” said Katharine T. Sullivan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs. “These awards will help service providers, as well as law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices respond to the many emotional and material challenges that crime victims in our country face every day.”

The Fund is financed by fines and penalties paid by convicted federal offenders and does not include tax dollars. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur today announced $1,697,084 in U.S. Department of Justice grants to improve services for crime victims in Maryland. The grants, awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, are part of over $144 million distributed nationwide to enhance the response to victims of crime throughout the United States.

“The Department of Justice is steadfast in its commitment to protecting public safety and bringing justice to those who have been victimized,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “The investments we are making today will support service providers as they work to secure the legal rights of victims and put survivors of criminal acts on the road to recovery.”

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “These grants will be used to provide services to children and youth in Maryland who are victims of crime as a result of the drug addiction crisis, and to assist Maryland jurisdictions to implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, which is designed to prevent children from becoming victims by identifying and registering those who have sexually abused a minor in the past.  We must do all we can to heal and protect our children.”

The awards made to organizations in Maryland will advance the use of technology, improve community preparedness and law enforcement training, and provide emergency and transitional shelter to assist victims of crime. Programs will also support victims of child abuse and fund research projects related to perpetrators and victims of elder abuse. Nationwide, approximately $64.3 million was awarded under Office for Victims of Crime grant programs; over $54.1 million was awarded under Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention programs; over $19.9 million was awarded under Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking grant programs; and nearly $5.7 million was awarded under two National Institute of Justice grant programs.

 “As lockdowns and lawlessness fuel crime in America’s homes and communities, more people are vulnerable to victimization and those who have been victimized face new hurdles,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “The Office of Justice Programs is committed to giving our victim service partners the tools they need to better serve their clients and protect victims’ rights.”

The following organizations in Maryland received funding:

• JBS International, Inc. received $1,499,960 to support training and technical assistance for the direct services grantees under the Enhancing Community Responses to America’s Drug Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims program.
• The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services received $180,000; Dorchester County received $11,370; and Frederick County received $5,754 under the Adam Walsh program to assist with developing enhancing programs designed to implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
   

More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

# # #

 

 

Greenbelt, Maryland – Bruce Ralph Sturtz, age 73, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the federal charge of possession of child pornography.  

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

According to Sturtz’s plea agreement, on February 26, 2017, a Maryland State Police (“MSP”) investigator conducted an online investigation of Sturtz after three separate law enforcement officers working through the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (“ICAC”) downloaded child pornography videos from a device at an IP address assigned to Sturtz’s residence.  The investigator found that Sturtz’s computer was running software that allowed other users to download a video that had previously been identified as child pornography.  The investigator downloaded and viewed the video, which documented the sexual abuse of a prepubescent female.

Less than a month later, on March 23 and March 24, 2017, investigators conducting online investigations for offenders sharing child pornography directed their focus to the Sturtz device because it was running the same computer software.  The investigators downloaded and viewed videos shared by the Sturtz device, which contained images of prepubescent females engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including bondage and bestiality.        

On October 25, 2017, a federal search warrant was executed on Sturtz’s residence.  At the time the search warrant was executed, Sturtz was downloading child pornography onto his computer.  Law enforcement seized a number of electronic devices.  A subsequent forensic analysis of the seized electronic devices revealed at least 1,356 videos and 16 pictures depicting child pornography.  The videos and images found on the seized electronic devices included child pornography of babies and toddlers, other children under 12 years of age, including incest, bondage, bestiality, and sexual acts between adults and victim children.  Forensic analysts were also able to identify on the seized electronic devices the three video files that were downloaded by investigators from Sturtz’s device.           

Sturz has previously been convicted of a sex offense involving a minor.  On October 6, 2000, Sturtz pled guilty to a third-degree sex offense in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland and was later sentenced to 10 years in prison, with all but eighteen months suspended, plus five years of probation. 

The Government plans to argue at Sturtz’s sentencing that Sturtz faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for the possession of child pornography subsequent to sustaining a prior state conviction relating to sexual abuse or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.       

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, and the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for their work in this investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leah B. Grossi and Joseph R. Baldwin, who are prosecuting the federal case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Levon Verian Butts, age 29, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 12 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in the armed robbery of a gas station owner.  The sentence was imposed on October 2, 2020.  Butts has been detained since his arrest. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Ashan Benedict of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, on January 16, 2018, Butts and two co-conspirators robbed the owner of a gas station in the 10000 block of Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills, Maryland.  As detailed in the plea agreement, Jesse James Elder was a frequent customer of the gas station and was friendly with the employees, including the owner.  On January 16, 2018, Elder was at the gas station playing the lottery when the owner arrived.  Shortly after his arrival, the owner placed $20,000, proceeds from the gas station, into a bank bag and left the store.  As he was walking out, he stopped next to Elder’s vehicle, which was parked in the gas station lot, and began talking to Elder.  While the owner and Elder were talking, Butts and Charvez Deonte Brooks approached from a neighboring parking lot and hid behind other parked cars.  When the owner walked away from Elder’s vehicle, Butts and Brooks pushed the owner to the ground and grabbed the bank bag from his hand.

Butts and Brooks tried to run back to the adjacent parking lot.  A bystander tripped Butts, causing him to run out of his shoes, which Butts left in the parking lot.  Brooks dropped some of the money.  Butts and Brooks got into co-conspirator Brooks’ silver Infiniti and fled the area.  Elder drove around the owner, who was lying motionless in the parking lot, and left the gas station.

As a result of being pushed to the ground, the owner of the gas station hit his head on the pavement and was knocked unconscious.  He was transported to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with multiple skull fractures, a cerebral hemorrhage, and remained in critical condition.  He has not returned to normal function.

Baltimore County Police officers responded to the gas station and recovered the money that had been dropped by Brooks and Butts’ shoes from the gas station parking lot.  They also recovered a .22-caliber handgun and additional money in the parking lot near where the Infiniti had been parked.  DNA from the shoes matched Butts’ DNA.

Elder, age 45, of Owings Mills, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a commercial robbery.  Brooks, age 31, of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, was convicted of that charge after a five-day trial.  Both defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has not scheduled sentencing for Elder.  Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for Brooks on December 5, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.  Elder and Brooks remain detained.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren E. Perry and Anatoly Smolkin, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Stephen L. Snyder, age 72, of Miami Beach, Florida, on the federal charges of attempted extortion and interstate travel and use of an interstate facility to carry on unlawful activity, also known as the Travel Act.  Snyder was the senior partner at a Baltimore-based law firm specializing in plaintiff-side medical malpractice litigation.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the eight-count indictment, between January and October 2018, Snyder attempted to obtain $25 million from the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) for himself, separate and apart from any claim by one of his clients, by using threats of economic and reputational harm to UMMS and its organ transplant program.  Specifically, the indictment alleges that Snyder threatened that if UMMS did not pay him $25 million, Snyder would launch a public relations campaign against UMMS that alleged, among other things, that UMMS transplanted diseased organs into unsophisticated patients without informing them of the quality of the organs they were receiving in order to generate revenue.  According to the indictment, Snyder told UMMS officials that the campaign would include: a front-page article in the Baltimore Sun; other national news stories; a press conference; advertisements on the Internet, including one that would run every time someone accessed the UMMS transplant site; and at least two videos Snyder produced and would air if his demand for a $25 million payment were not met.

Snyder allegedly demanded that UMMS disguise the $25 million payment as a sham consulting arrangement between Snyder and UMMS.  Snyder also allegedly threatened that a lawyer (Lawyer 1) working for the insurance program insuring UMMS and its faculty physician groups would lose her job and threatened to harm the professional reputation of a UMMS doctor (Doctor 1) if they did not aid Snyder in obtaining the $25 million payment.

As detailed in the indictment, Snyder represented the spouse of a transplant patient who had died (Client 2).  During a settlement conference that included the lawyer and doctor mentioned above, Snyder demanded a $25 million settlement for his client.  In a later meeting, Snyder allegedly told UMMS representatives, including Lawyer 1 and Doctor 1, that the Client 2 case was “not worth that much money” and that Client 2’s case was worth between $3 and $5 million.  Snyder confirmed several times that the $25 million would be a payment made just to him and would be in addition to the payment made to Client 2’s spouse to settle her case.  When asked what he could do for $25 million, he told the UMMS representatives that he didn’t know, didn’t care, and could be “a janitor” at UMMS. 

During both meetings, Snyder allegedly played videos that he had produced and said he would air if his demands were not met.  The first video claimed that UMMS did not tell patients that organs UMMS transplanted were bad organs or that they accepted organs that other institutions rejected. The commercial said that Client 2 was told by the surgeon that transplanted his kidney that the surgeon would have transplanted the same organ into his own wife but wasn’t told that 250 other institutions had rejected the same kidney.  The video showed images of Client 2 with necrotic fingertips and an amputated leg.  The second video started with the words, in red, “PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT” as well as an alert sound associated with emergency alerts.  It then showed a text that Doctor 1 had sent Snyder on April 20, 2018, that read: “Sue and I just spoke.  She understands on hook for fraud and punitive damages.  Ball is in your court.”  The video then showed pictures of several doctors which the video claimed had left UMMS or had been demoted and were no longer performing surgery.  Doctor 1 was pictured with the words: “DEMOTED NO LONGER DOING SURGERY – relegated to executive work” next to his picture.  After UMMS representatives advised Snyder that the video contained inaccuracies, such as the fact that the doctor had not been demoted and was still performing surgeries, Snyder responded, “then I’m wrong.”

If convicted, Snyder faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for extortion and for each of seven counts of violating the Travel Act.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Snyder is expected to have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, although no date has been scheduled.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Wise and Matthew J. Phelps, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – Erik Martinez-Melendez, age 24, a native of El Salvador residing in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to illegal reentry of a deported alien after being convicted of an aggravated felony, in this case, second-degree rape.  

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Acting Field Office Director Francisco Madrigal of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

According to his guilty plea, Martinez-Melendez is not a citizen of the United States and has no legal status within the United States.  In February 2015, Martinez-Melendez pleaded guilty to second-degree rape in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, for having sex with an 11-year-old girl when he was 18 years of age.  Martinez-Melendez was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but 18 months suspended and was deported in June 2016, after serving his sentence.

Martinez-Melendez admitted that, after his deportation, he returned to the United States without authority and was apprehended in Maryland by immigration officials in February 2020, after an investigation revealed he was in the United States illegally.

Martinez-Melendez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher has not yet scheduled sentencing. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended ICE-ERO for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Loveland, Jr., who is prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury yesterday returned an indictment charging Brandon Goforth, age 36, of Baltimore, Maryland, with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person. A federal complaint was filed on September 25, 2020.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division and Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to the complaint, on November 27, 2019, a Sergeant in the Baltimore Police Department was conducting a business check at a business located in Baltimore City.  While inside the establishment, the Sergeant heard several gunshots coming from down the street, and exited the establishment to investigate. Brandon Goforth was seen firing a handgun toward a crowd of people standing on the corner of North Avenue and Mount Street in Baltimore’s Penn North neighborhood.  Goforth continued firing the gun towards the crowd while running westbound on North Avenue, then placed the handgun inside his right coat pocket while running into an alley.

Once officers located Goforth, the Sergeant positively identified him as the individual that had fired a handgun into a crowd of people.  At the time of the shooting, Goforth had been wearing a black, grey, and green jacket.  Officers located the jacket, also containing 20 baggies of marijuana, in an adjacent yard.  Officers also recovered a black hat, a face mask, and a pistol loaded with five rounds of ammunition along the retraced route.

Goforth was previously convicted of a felony offense and is therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are continuing our efforts to address the gun violence plaguing the Baltimore area by using federal statutes prohibiting felons from possessing firearms.  These types of reactive gun cases are part of the Exile program.  Maryland EXILE is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), our violent-crime reduction strategy.  The United States Attorney’s Office, through the use of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian, will continue to pursue felons with guns who constitute a clear and present danger to the safety and welfare of the citizens of Baltimore. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and BPD for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney LaRai Everett, who is prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – Richard Tingler, age 56, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the federal charges of armed bank robbery and brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD).

According to his plea agreement, on January 23, 2019 and February 1, 2019, Richard Tingler and his co-defendant David Gollahon committed two armed bank robberies in Baltimore, Maryland and co-defendant Richard Adams served as the getaway driver in both robberies.  During each robbery, Gollahon and Tingler each brandished a firearm and threatened victim bank employees.

Specifically, on January 23, 2019, Adams drove Tingler and Gollahon in a gray Hyundai Accent car to the area of a PNC Bank branch in Baltimore, Maryland.  Tingler and Gollahon each had a firearm.

After entering the bank, Tingler, wearing a black ski mask, gray gloves, and a camouflage jacket and carrying a loaded black firearm and black leather duffle bag, and Gollahon, wearing a black ski mask and a gray hooded sweatshirt and carrying a loaded black firearm, told everyone to put their hands up.  Tingler approached the victim teller, pointed his firearm at her, and demanded $100 dollar bills and “loose bills” from the bottom drawer of the till.  Meanwhile, Gollahon held the other bank employees and customers at gunpoint in the lobby area of the bank.  He told the bank employees and customers, “don’t move.”

The victim teller complied with Tingler’s demand for cash and handed over $7,531.00 U.S. dollars.  Tingler and Gollahon then fled the bank on foot.  As they ran through a parking lot, they accidentally dropped $5,584 in cash.  They then got into the gray Hyundai Accent car driven by Adams, and drove away

On February 1, 2019, Adams drove Tingler and Gollahon in a 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to a M&T Bank branch in Baltimore, Maryland.  Tingler and Gollahon each had the same firearm they had used in connection with the January 23, 2019 robbery of the PNC Bank.

After entering the bank, Tingler, wearing a black beanie, gray gloves, and the same camouflage jacket and carrying a loaded black firearm, and Gollahon, wearing a dark colored hoodie, tan jacket colored jacket, and black gloves and carrying a loaded black firearm, approached the teller window.  Tingler pointed his firearm at the teller and demanded $100 bills.  The victim teller complied and handed over cash from the till, but Tingler continued to demand more money.  At the same time, Gollahon approached the teller line with his firearm pointed in the direction of the tellers and bank customers.

In response to the demands for more cash, the victim teller and a co-worker went to the bank’s vault and removed $40,000 in cash.  They provided that cash to Tingler and Gollahon, who ultimately were given a total of $43,802.00 in cash.  In addition to the cash, the victim teller also provided a GPS tracker, which was activated.

Tingler and Gollahon then fled the bank and got into the 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Adams.  Adams drove the Monte Carlo away from the bank.  Law enforcement received GPS information concerning the location of the GPS tracker taken from the bank, which they relayed to Baltimore Police Department (BPD).

BPD officers stopped the vehicle, ordered Adams, Tingler, and Gollahon out of the vehicle, and arrested them.  At the time of his arrest, Gollahon had on his person the same firearm he used during the robbery.

Law enforcement searched Adams’ 2006 Monte Carlo car and recovered a blue backpack containing $43,802.00 in cash, the GPS tracker taken during the robbery, and the firearm carried by Tingler during both bank robberies.

Later that day, law enforcement searched Adams’ residence in Essex, Maryland and seized Gollahon’s gray hooded sweatshirt and the black leather duffel bag carried by Tingler during the January 23, 2019 robbery. 

If the Court accepts the parties’ plea agreement, Tingler will be sentenced no more than 18 years imprisonment for armed bank robbery and for brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for January 19, 2021.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended FBI, BPD, and BCPD for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Riley and Daniel Loveland, Jr., who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland – After a four-day trial that ended on Friday, September 25, 2020, a federal jury convicted Tiba Sakuri Conley, age 31, of Ellicott City, Maryland, on federal drug distribution and firearms charges.  

The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Lisa D. Myers of the Howard County Police Department; Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha N. Braveboy.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on April 21, 2016, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Conley’s residence in Ellicott City, Maryland.  When law enforcement entered his residence, Conley was in the kitchen with bags of cocaine base (also known as crack cocaine), powder cocaine, digital scales with white residue, baking powder, a pyrex measuring cup with white residue, and a loaded .45 caliber pistol on the kitchen counters on either side of him.  Law enforcement recovered approximately 70 grams of crack cocaine and approximately 72 grams of powder cocaine, which Conley possessed with the intent to distribute, as well as four digital scales and $9,495 in United States currency ($495 of which was recovered from Conley’s person). 

In furtherance of his drug trafficking, Conley also possessed another .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, a 5.56x45 millimeter semi-automatic rifle, and a 7.62x39 millimeter semi-automatic rifle  There were almost 200 rounds of ammunition recovered from the residence—much of it loaded into large capacity magazines for the rifles.  The evidence showed that Conley was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition as a result of a previous felony conviction.  In a recording played at trial, Conley acknowledged that he was “cooking” when law enforcement entered his residence and that, “They got me.”

Conley faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute over 28 grams of cocaine base; a consecutive mandatory minimum sentence of 60 months in federal prison for possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte has scheduled sentencing for January 7, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI; PGPD; Prince George’s County States Attorney’s Office and the Howard County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph R. Baldwin and Dwight J. Draughon, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

 

Baltimore, Maryland – Gregory Ray Blosser, age 38, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty today to a federal wire fraud charge in connection with a scheme to defraud clients of The Surrogacy Group (TSG), which he owned and operated from offices in Annapolis, Maryland and Tampa, Florida.  Blosser was arrested on April 29th in Florida and has been under home confinement since his arrest.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

“The facts of this case are especially egregious because Gregory Blosser took advantage of individuals who were trying to become parents,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Criminals like Blosser, who line their pockets through such heartless deceit, will be held accountable.”

“Dreams, hopes and bank accounts were wiped clean by Mr. Blosser who preyed on couples who were already in a vulnerable place,” said Jennifer C. Boone, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Division. “This guilty plea is a reminder that the FBI will use our resources appropriately to root out fraudulent surrogacy schemes that violate the trust of the American public."

According to Blosser’s plea agreement, TSG was incorporated in Maryland on January 5, 2012 and offered and sold surrogacy-related services throughout the United States and internationally to individuals who desired to have children using a pregnancy surrogate.  From at least 2015 until his arrest in 2019, Blosser solicited and accepted funds from TSG clients who desired to have children using a surrogate, representing that these funds would be held in escrow.  Blosser told the clients that he would act as their agent disbursing the funds to the surrogate pursuant to contracts between the TSG client and TSG, and the TSG client and the surrogate.

Instead, Blosser admitted that beginning in 2017, he converted a significant portion of the funds he promised to hold in escrow to his own use without the authorization of the TSG client and failed to pay the surrogate as he had agreed to do. Blosser did not, as promised, create separate escrow accounts for these funds and as a result, those funds intermingled with TSG’s operating accounts and were used to pay business expenses, service business loans, and for other purposes not permitted under the escrow agreements.  TSG clients were forced to pay the surrogate’s expenses themselves, effectively paying twice for the services Blosser had promised to deliver.

As detailed in his plea agreement, at Blosser’s direction, at least seven victims paid fees to establish an escrow account to be controlled by Blosser, with the funds to be used to find a suitable surrogate, and to support the surrogate during a pregnancy.  The victims lived in Maryland, Australia, North Carolina, Germany, and Virginia.  In each case, after the victims deposited funds into the escrow account, Blosser either did not locate a suitable surrogate, or did not pay the surrogate the agreed-upon fees.

In total, Blosser fraudulently obtained approximately $1,104,706 from approximately 44 victims.

Blosser is also facing related civil suits filed by the States of Maryland and Florida.

Blosser faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for wire fraud.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for January 15, 2021, at 2:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo J. Wise, who is prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III today sentenced Quention Price, age 27, of Columbia, South Carolina, to 20 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for two federal carjacking charges; for discharging a weapon during a crime of violence; and for using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, in connection with a carjacking and attempted carjacking committed on June 15, 2019, in the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to get guns out of the hands of violent criminals and off of our streets.  Quention Price now faces 20 years in federal prison, where there is no parole—ever.  Please, put down the guns and save a life—maybe even your own.”

“Carjacking is a senseless act of violence that has no place in our society,” said Jennifer C. Boone, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “The FBI is committed to working closely with our federal, state and local partners to continue to bring justice to those who commit these violent crimes.”

According to his guilty plea, on the evening of June 15, 2019, Price stood in the middle of the street in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor region in front of a Honda Civic, forcing the vehicle to stop.  Price approached the driver’s side door, telling the driver to “open the door” while pulling on the door handle.  When the driver refused, Price became frustrated, walked to the front of the car, pulled out a handgun, and discharged two bullets in an attempt to take the vehicle.  One of the bullets went through the front windshield of the car and lodged in the empty front passenger seat.  The driver and his backseat passenger were able to get away in the car, successfully avoiding Price, who fled the scene.

As detailed in his plea agreement, while fleeing from the first carjacking, Price fired his weapon at a passing Subaru Outback station wagon.  The bullet went through the hood of the vehicle, just below the front windshield.  Price was then captured on surveillance video walking into the middle of Light Street, where he approached multiple cars and brandished his gun while pulling on the car door handles.  At approximately 11:00 p.m. Price approached a BMW 325i, climbed onto the hood of the vehicle, and began striking the windshield with his gun, cracking the glass and punching a hole, all while screaming at the driver to “get out of the car.”  Price then walked to the driver’s side, struck the driver in the face with the butt of his pistol through an open window, and pulled the victim out of the vehicle by her hair.  After the driver and passenger had exited the car, Price drove the BMW northbound on Light Street towards the Inner Harbor, crashing the car a few blocks away.  As a Baltimore Police officer responded, Price fell out of the car and moved toward the trunk, where he was immediately arrested.  Officers recovered the gun, a .357 revolver, from behind the BMW, where Price was found when police arrived on the scene.  The gun matched the description provided by the driver of the BMW and contained three spent shell casings in the cylinder, indicating that it had been fired three times.  The driver and passenger of the BMW were brought to the scene and identified Price as the carjacker.  Price was also subsequently heard on recorded jail calls admitting to carjacking vehicles and to firing his gun at the vehicles and their passengers.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Goldsticker, who prosecuted the case.

# # #

A Maryland man was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake today to 12 months and one day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally accessing and damaging the computer network of his former employer.  Judge Blake also entered an order requiring Stafford to pay restitution in the amount of $193,258.10 to his former employer.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office and Deputy Inspector General Richard K. Delmar of the Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General made the announcement.

According to court documents and evidence presented at his four-day trial, from Jan. 5, 2004 through Aug. 6, 2015, Shannon Stafford, 50, of Crofton, Maryland, was employed in the information technology (IT) department at Business A, a global company with thousands of employees and offices around the world, including in Maryland and Washington, D.C.  Stafford was employed in the Washington office and provided IT technical support to employees based at, or visiting, the Washington, McLean, Virginia, or Baltimore offices.  As part of his duties, Stafford had access to the system login credentials of other employees and was authorized to use them in the course of performing his technical support duties.  Stafford was also responsible for disabling company users’ network access credentials at the end of their employment.  In 2014, Business A provided Stafford with a laptop to use for his work.

Witnesses testified that in 2014, Stafford was promoted to the managerial role of technical site lead for the Washington office.  In March 2015, Stafford was demoted back to an IT support role, due to performance issues in his management position.  Stafford’s performance issues continued and he was fired on Aug. 6, 2015.  Stafford did not return the laptop he was previously provided by Business A.

The evidence proved that on the evening of Aug. 6, 2015, Stafford repeatedly attempted to remotely access Business A’s computer networks from his residence, using the company laptop.  Stafford unsuccessfully attempted to access the company’s network approximately 10 times, using his own credentials and the credentials of a former co-worker, whom he had previously assisted.  In the early morning hours of Aug. 8, 2015, Stafford successfully used the co-worker’s credentials and the company laptop to access, without authorization, the computer in the Washington office that had been located under his desk.  Stafford used the Washington IT computer to execute demands to delete all of the file storage drives used by the Washington office, then changed the password to access the storage management system.  The deletion of the files caused a severe disruption to the company’s operations and the loss of some customer and user data.  Changing the password hindered the company’s efforts to determine what happened and restore access to its remaining files.    As a result of the deletion of the network file storage drives, Washington users were unable to access their stored files for approximately three days, until the data could be restored from backups.  Customer and user data that was not included in the most recent backup prior to Stafford’s deletion of the files was permanently lost.

On Aug. 11, 2015, Stafford unsuccessfully attempted to remotely access the company’s computer network from his home approximately 13 times, using credentials that were not his.  On Aug. 13, 2015, a company representative spoke to Stafford and demanded that he cease and desist his attempts to unlawfully access Business A’s computer systems.  The evidence showed that despite the Company’s demand, between Aug. 21 and Sept. 9, 2015, Stafford attempted to access the company’s network from his home approximately 17 times, using credentials that were not his.  On Sept. 14, 2015, Stafford used the credentials of another former co-worker to access a network file storage system computer that he had been responsible for maintaining in the IT department of the company’s Baltimore office, intending to cause the same type of damage he did when he deleted the Washington office’s stored files.  However, Stafford’s attempt failed because Business A had changed the password after Stafford’s attack on the Washington files.

The actual loss to Business A resulting from Stafford’s damage and attempted damage to their computer systems, including the cost of restoring the deleted systems, investigating what happened, and responding to the intrusion is at least $38,270.  In addition, Business A incurred legal fees totaling $133,950.60 and a fee of $21,037.50 for a forensic investigation.      

The FBI and Treasury OIG conducted the investigation.  Trial Attorney S. Riane Harper of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Properties Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers prosecuted the case.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Barry Thomas Goldsborough, age 52, of Laurel, Maryland, with receipt, transportation, distribution, and possession of child pornography.  The indictment was returned on September 21, 2020, and unsealed yesterday at Goldsborough’s initial appearance in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.  At that hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles B. Day ordered that Goldsborough be detained pending trial

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge John Eisert of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to the four-count indictment, on dates ranging from January 27, 2018 through November 19, 2019, Goldsborough received, transported, distributed, and possessed images documenting the sexual abuse of children.  As stated during yesterday’s detention hearing, Goldsborough has two prior sex offense convictions involving minor children.  Specifically, on April 12, 2005, Goldsborough was convicted in the District Court for Baltimore County, Maryland for possession of child pornography.  While Goldsborough was on probation for the Baltimore County conviction, Goldsborough was then charged with, and later was convicted of, attempted enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and possession of child pornography in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.  At the time of the alleged conduct in the four-count indictment, Goldsborough was on federal supervision for this last offense.  

Due to Goldsborough’s prior sex offense convictions, if convicted of receipt, transportation, or distribution of child pornography, Goldsborough faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison; and if convicted for possession of child pornography, faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.        

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI, Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah B. Grossi, who is prosecuting the federal case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake today sentenced Shannon Stafford, age 50, of Crofton, Maryland, to a year and a day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally accessing and damaging the computer network of his former employer.  Judge Blake also entered an order requiring Stafford to pay restitution in the amount of $193,258.10 to his former employer.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Attorney General Brian Rabbitt of the Department of Justice Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Deputy Inspector General Richard K. Delmar of the Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General.

According to court documents and evidence presented at his four-day trial, from January 5, 2004 through August 6, 2015, Stafford was employed in the information technology (IT) department at Business A, a global company with thousands of employees and offices around the world, including in Maryland and Washington, D.C.  Stafford was employed in the Washington office and provided IT technical support to employees based at, or visiting, the Washington, McLean, Virginia, and Baltimore offices.  As part of his duties, Stafford had access to the system login credentials of other employees and was authorized to use them in the course of performing his technical support duties.  Stafford was also responsible for disabling company users’ network access credentials at the end of their employment.  In 2014, Business A provided Stafford with a laptop to use for his work.

Witnesses testified that in 2014, Stafford was promoted to the managerial role of technical site lead for the Washington office.  In March 2015, Stafford was demoted back to an IT support role, due to performance issues in his management position.  Stafford’s performance issues continued and he was fired on August 6, 2015.  Stafford did not return the laptop he was previously provided by Business A.

The evidence proved that on the evening of August 6, 2015, Stafford repeatedly attempted to remotely access Business A’s computer networks from his residence, using the company laptop.  Stafford unsuccessfully attempted to access the company’s network approximately 10 times, using his own credentials and the credentials of a former co-worker, whom he had previously assisted.  In the early morning hours of August 8, 2015, Stafford successfully used the co-worker’s credentials and the company laptop to access, without authorization, the computer in the Washington office that had been located under his desk.  Stafford used the Washington IT computer to execute demands to delete all of the file storage drives used by the Washington office, then changed the password to access the storage management system.  The deletion of the files caused a severe disruption to the company’s operations and the loss of some customer and user data.  Changing the password hindered the company’s efforts to determine what happened and restore access to its remaining files.  As a result of the deletion of the network file storage drives, Washington users were unable to access their stored files for approximately three days, until the data could be restored from backups.  Customer and user data that was not included in the most recent backup prior to Stafford’s deletion of the files was permanently lost.

On August 11, 2015, Stafford unsuccessfully attempted to remotely access the company’s computer network from his home approximately 13 times, using credentials that were not his.  On August 13, 2015, a company representative spoke to Stafford and demanded that he cease and desist his attempts to unlawfully access Business A’s computer systems.  The evidence showed that despite Business A’s demand, between August 21 and September 9, 2015, Stafford attempted to access the company’s network from his home approximately 17 times, using credentials that were not his.  On September 14, 2015, Stafford used the credentials of another former co-worker to access a network file storage system computer that he had been responsible for maintaining in the IT department of the company’s Baltimore office, intending to cause the same type of damage he did when he deleted the Washington office’s stored files.  However, Stafford’s attempt failed because Business A had changed the password after Stafford’s attack on the Washington files.

The actual loss to Business A resulting from Stafford’s damage and attempted damage to their computer systems, including the cost of restoring the deleted systems, investigating what happened, and responding to the intrusion is at least $38,270.  In addition, Business A incurred legal fees totaling $133,950.60 and a fee of $21,037.50 for a forensic investigation.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the FBI and Treasury OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers and Trial Attorney S. Riane Harper of DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, who prosecuted the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – Shannon Dorrell Marshall, age 43, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to two counts of distribution of controlled substances, specifically a fentanyl analogue and heroin.  Marshall admitted that a victim died as a result of his drug distribution.  Fentanyl analogues are chemical compounds designed to have effects similar to fentanyl and can be just as deadly.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler; Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Chief Henry Trabert of the Aberdeen Police Department; Chief Charles Moore of the Bel Air Police Department; Chief Teresa Walter of the Havre de Grace Police Department; and Harford County State’s Attorney Albert Peisinger.

According to his guilty plea, on May 11, 2017, Harford County Sheriff’s Office detectives went to a home in Abingdon, Maryland, where a victim had been reported dead.  An autopsy determined that the victim died of 4-Fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl and carfentanil intoxication.  Detectives seized the victim’s phone and recovered messages from the victim arranging to purchase drugs from an individual known as “Cake,” and learned that Marshall was the source of the drugs sold to the victim.  Further review of the phone revealed that the victim had been purchasing gel caps of heroin from “Cake” since October 2016.

As detailed in the plea agreement, on June 15, 2017, detectives conducted surveillance of Marshall and observed him engage in a hand-to-hand drug transaction.  When detectives exited their vehicles to approach Marshall, he fled.  Detectives were able to stop the person who had just purchased drugs from Marshall.  The drugs were determined to be three gel caps of heroin and crack cocaine.  On June 21, 2017, Harford County Task Force detectives executed a search warrant at Marshall’s residence and seized a bag containing 2.8 grams of cocaine.  Marshall was arrested and agreed to waive his rights and speak to detectives, subsequently admitting to selling drugs to the overdose victim, as well as to the individual on June 15, 2020.

Marshall and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Marshall will be sentenced to between 13 years and 15 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for December 22, 2020 at 10 am. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and the other members of Harford County Task Force, comprised of members of the Harford County Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police, Aberdeen Police Department, Bel Air Police Department, Havre de Grace Police Department, and the Harford County States Attorney’s Office, for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Romano and Kim Y. Oldham, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland -- Saleem Abdul Muhammad, age 55, of Prince George’s County, Maryland pleaded guilty today to bank robbery.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to the statement of facts in the Government’s Plea Memorandum, on July, 15, 2019, Muhammad entered a bank in Oxon Hill, Maryland, approached the teller’s window, and stated “Give me my money.”  The victim advised Muhammad that he needed to provide his identification and debit card to withdraw money.  Muhammad became agitated and stated, “Give me the money, this is a robbery, I will shoot everyone out here.”  Fearing for her safety, the victim complied and provided Muhammad with $202 in U.S. currency with a GPS tracking device hidden inside.  Muhammad fled on foot.

The GPS tracker led officers to a Burger King located in the same shopping center as the bank.  The officers apprehended Muhammad, and, after a review of surveillance footage showing Muhammad throwing something in the trash, a search of the trashcan revealed the GPS tracking device. The $202 in cash was found on Muhammad’s person. Muhammad was transported to the police station where he was interviewed by a detective. In response to a question regarding why he threatened to shoot the people in the bank, Muhammad responded, because the victim “was acting like she wasn’t going to give me [the money].”

Muhammad faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for bank robbery.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for November 24, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Morgan, and Burden Walker, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment charging Andre Ricardo Briscoe, a/k/a Poo, age 37, of Baltimore and Cambridge, Maryland, with federal drug distribution charges, use of a firearm to commit murder in relation to the drug trafficking crimes, killing a witness to prevent communication with law enforcement, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  

The superseding indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Acting Chief Mark K. Lewis of the Cambridge Police Department.

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “These murders are shocking and unconscionable.  This indictment should make one thing crystal clear:  If you touch a witness, especially a child, the full weight of federal law enforcement will be harnessed to find you and bring you to justice.  And we will not stop investigating until we bring to justice anyone else who was involved.”

“Jennifer Jeffrey and her child should still be here today, living full lives and making plans for that child’s bright future.  Instead, their lives and futures were brutally stolen,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones.  “ATF and our partners will do everything in our power to bring murderers and violent offenders to justice, along with anyone who harms and intimidates witnesses.  We want to see families find peace, communities become safer, and citizens and witnesses live without fear.”

“A seven-year-old child should be playing with friends and dreaming about the future, not dying in a heinous act of violence,” said Jennifer C. Boone, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “Violence and intimidation of witnesses will not be tolerated.  Let this indictment send a clear message; if anyone attempts to tamper with the justice system, they will be caught and held accountable.”

According to the superseding indictment, from March through October 2015, Briscoe conspired with others to distribute heroin.  The indictment alleges that on May 27, 2015, in connection with his drug distribution, Briscoe committed an armed robbery and during the course of the robbery shot and killed Jennifer Jeffrey and Jeffrey’s seven-year-old child.  The indictment also alleges that Briscoe shot the child multiple times, including in the head and mouth, killing the child to prevent him/her from communicating with law enforcement.

If convicted of the murders, Briscoe faces a maximum sentence of death or life in prison.  Briscoe also faces death or a mandatory sentence of life in prison if convicted of the witness tampering murder; a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for the conspiracy to distribute and for possession with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin; and a maximum of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Briscoe remains in federal custody on his previous indictment and is expected to have an initial appearance on the new charges in U.S. District Court in Baltimore in the near future.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF, the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Cambridge Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana J. Brusca, Sandra Wilkinson, and Michael C. Hanlon, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III today sentenced Garrick Richardson, age 50, of Fort Washington Maryland, today to 151 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a heroin distribution conspiracy during which Richardson was aware that more than a kilogram of heroin would be possessed for distribution.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to Richardson’s guilty plea, during the week of November 17, 2019, a DEA confidential source engaged in a series of conversations with Richardson’s co-conspirator regarding the purchase of a kilogram of heroin, finally agreeing on a purchase price.  Richardson agreed to work with the co-conspirator to acquire the heroin and to distribute it to the purchaser.

As detailed in the plea agreement, on November 26, 2019, the confidential source agreed to meet the co-conspirator at a hotel in Clinton, Maryland.  The source got into the co-conspirator’s vehicle and after the co-conspirator placed multiple calls to arrange for the delivery of the drugs, Richardson got into the back seat of the co-conspirator’s vehicle with a brick-like object wrapped in aluminum foil.  Richardson cut a piece of the heroin off for the co-conspirator and source to examine.  The source then exited the vehicle, notifying DEA agents that there was a kilogram of heroin in the vehicle.

Richardson admitted that when DEA agents attempted to detain him and the co-conspirator, they fled in the co-conspirator’s vehicle.  However, the co-conspirator crashed the vehicle and he and Richardson fled into the nearby woods.  Law enforcement located and arrested Richardson and found the heroin near where the co-conspirator had fled.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney LaRai N. Everett, who is prosecuting the case.

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland – Martrel Rayshard Reeves, age 30, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

“Law enforcement must be able to keep guns out of the hands of convicted criminals,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “So-called ‘ghost guns’ circumvent the laws designed to prevent felons from possessing firearms because they have no serial numbers and do not require background checks.”

According to his plea agreement, on July 8, 2018, law enforcement executed a traffic stop on Reeves’ vehicle, a black Dodge Charger, for traffic violations.  The car was occupied by Reeves and a female passenger.  Reeves did not have a driver’s license or other identification and a check of his driving record revealed that his license had been suspended.  Officers asked Reeves to step out of the car.  Law enforcement smelled alcohol on Reeves’ breath and the odor of marijuana on his person.  The vehicle was searched and law enforcement recovered a .40-caliber pistol, loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition, from a black bag in the car.  Reeves admitted at the scene that the firearm belonged to him, following which, he was arrested.

As detailed in Reeves’ plea agreement, the pistol was test-fired and found to function as a firearm.  The gun recovered in Reeves’ car is what is known as a “ghost gun”—in that it was made from a firearm parts kit.  These kits can be purchased from various kit manufacturers or secondary retailers, including Internet websites.  Crucially, convicted felons, who are prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition as a result of their convictions, can order such firearm kits and assemble an untraceable working gun in the privacy of their homes in as little as one hour with minimal effort.

Reeves faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for January 5, 2021, at 9:00 a.m.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.  Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.        

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the ATF and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rajeev R. Raghavan and Erin B. Pulice, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned a fourth superseding indictment charging 16 defendants with participating in violent racketeering and drug conspiracies that allegedly resulted in four murders, one attempted murder, five overdose deaths, and nine overdose distributions resulting in serious bodily injury.  The fourth superseding indictment was returned on September 15, 2020, and includes three new defendants, as well as new charges, including a racketeering conspiracy, a murder-for-hire conspiracy, a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in serious physical injury and death, and related drug and gun charges.

The fourth superseding indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to reduce violent crime and deadly drug dealing and hold accountable those who bring them to our streets.  And criminals should be on notice that witness intimidation and retaliation will not be tolerated—period.  We are determined to root out the sources of this type of violence from our neighborhoods and seek the community’s continue help in doing so.”

“These are violent, dangerous men who have allegedly terrorized the streets of Baltimore for years with murder-for-hire plots, witness intimidation, drug trafficking, laced drugs and other brazen criminal acts,” said Jennifer C. Boone, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “This gang was devastating neighborhoods and destroying families. Today, together, with the help of our law enforcement partners, I am proud to announce these significant indictments. We will continue to work together to fight crime, but we also need the need community assistance through tips and information to help keep Baltimore safe.”

The following defendants are charged in the fourth superseding indictment:

Gregory Butler, a/k/a Gotti, Sags and Little Dick, age 28, of Baltimore; Darran Malik Butler, a/k/a Lik, age 21, of Baltimore; Bobby Cannon, a/k/a Freaky, age 23 of Baltimore; Darean Cook, age 27, of Baltimore; Juawan Davis, a/k/a Fat Daddy, age 24, of Baltimore; Edward Buddy Hall, a/k/a Gwar, age 54, of Baltimore; Timothy Legard, age 29, of Bunker Hill, West Virginia; Davon Owens, a/k/a Gusto, age 31, of Baltimore; D’Andre Preston, a/k/a Whiteboy and Whites, age 23, of Baltimore; Desmond Ringgold, a/k/a Worm and Fool, age 28, of Baltimore; James Henry Roberts, a/k/a Bub, age 29, of Baltimore; Tirrel Saunders, a/k/a Pretty, age 32, of Baltimore; Nathan Stanley, age 48, of Rixeyville, Virginia; Jamie Wagoner, age 37, of Stephens City, Virginia; Laura Warner, age 36, of Berkeley County; and
Emanuel Watkins, age 62, of Baltimore.

According to the 33-count indictment, from 2016 to March 26, 2020, Gregory Butler, Darran Butler, Cannon, Davis, Preston, and Roberts were part of the NFL criminal enterprise, which has social and familial ties to the Edmondson Village neighborhood in southwest Baltimore.  The term NFL stands for Normandy, Franklin, and Loudon, which are three adjacent streets that run through the Edmondson Village.  The fourth superseding indictment alleges that those six defendants engaged in a pattern of criminal racketeering activity including acts involving murder, narcotics trafficking and smuggling, illegal firearms possession, bribery, witness intimidation, and witness retaliation.  

The fourth superseding indictment alleges that NFL members and associates purchased, maintained, and circulated weapons and firearms for use in criminal activity by NFL members and associates, sometimes obtaining firearms from drug customers as a form of payment in exchange for drugs.  According to the fourth superseding indictment, NFL members used firearms in connection with the enterprise’s illegal activities, including, drug trafficking and acts involving murder, and used violence, threats, and intimidation to prevent victims and witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement against NFL members and associates about criminal acts committed by NFL.

According to the fourth superseding indictment, NFL members and associates were involved in murder and attempted murder, including murder-for-hire schemes. NFL members and associates offered bounties for the murder of witnesses and rivals and allegedly acted as brokers connecting hitmen with individuals who had offered bounties for the murder of witnesses and rivals.  NFL members and associates also allegedly carried out contract killings to enrich themselves and to retaliate against witnesses and rivals.

Further, the fourth superseding indictment alleges that NFL members and associates used social media to promote the enterprise, including by posting displays of wealth and advertising affiliation to the NFL Enterprise, as well as to intimidate and retaliate against actual and suspected witnesses, including by posting displays of firearms, brandishing firearms, intimating the use of firearms, and revealing information about the identity of suspected cooperating witnesses.  In addition, NFL members and associates assisted incarcerated NFL members and associates by moving evidence and contraband for them, and assisting with their drug trafficking operations while they remained incarcerated, including smuggling contraband cell phones and controlled substances into correctional facilities.

From at least 2016 through his arrest on April 3, 2019, Gregory Butler allegedly controlled a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed large quantities of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.  The indictment alleges that in order to maximize their profits, members of the DTO cut the heroin and crack cocaine with other substances, such as fentanyl and diphenhydramine (often found in sleeping pills).  As detailed in the fourth superseding indictment, the defendants were aware that the drugs they distributed were causing overdoses, with at least five overdose deaths being attributed to the distribution of drugs by members of the conspiracy, including the father of one of the conspirators.

If convicted, the six defendants charged with racketeering face a maximum of life in prison for the racketeering conspiracy; all the defendants except Preston, face a maximum of life in prison for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death or serious physical injury; and Gregory Butler, Hall, and Wagoner each face a mandatory minimum of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum of life in prison, for each count of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death or serious injury.  Darran Butler, Preston, and Roberts also face a maximum of life in prison for conspiracy to use and/or for the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire; Davis, Owens and Roberts also face a maximum sentence of life in prison for possessing with intent to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, or fentanyl.  Cannon, Preston, and Warner face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison for possessing with intent to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, or fentanyl. Gregory Butler, Cannon, Davis, Hall, Owens, and Roberts also face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, and a maximum sentence of life in prison for possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  Finally, Gregory Butler, Hall, Owens, Preston, and Roberts face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person.  Fifteen defendants charged in the fourth superseding indictment have been arrested and are detained pending trial.  Jamie Wagoner remains a fugitive.                                              

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the DEA, the Montgomery County Police Department and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the City of Rockville Police Department; the Baltimore County, Howard County, and Montgomery County Police Departments; the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office; the Maryland State Police; the West Virginia State Police; the Virginia State Police; the Warren County (VA) Sheriff’s Department; the Winchester (VA) and Front Royal (VA) Police Departments; and the Frederick County and Howard County State’s Attorney’s Offices.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew DellaBetta and Michael Goldsticker, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

# # #

Baltimore Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake today sentenced Lance Andre Lucas, age 44, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for federal honest services wire fraud and use of an interstate facility to carry on unlawful activity, also known as the Travel Act.  

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Baltimore Field Office.

“Lance Lucas paid $42,500 to former Maryland Delegate Cheryl Glenn in exchange for official actions, to give his businesses an advantage,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Legislative decisions must be made in the best interests of the public, not in exchange for bribes.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI will continue to hold accountable those who pay bribes to benefit their own interests over the public good.”

“As evident in today's sentencing, public corruption is not merely focused on persons holding public office, but extends to anyone attempting to leverage access to those with influence for personal benefit,” said Jennifer C. Boone, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office.  “The FBI's pledge to the public is that we will seek to root out public corruption wherever it may be, no matter the person, position, or purpose.”

According to his plea agreement, Lance Lucas was an entrepreneur and businessman.  He was employed by Company 1, which developed the Cyber Warrior Diversity Program curriculum to sell to institutions offering education and training to persons interested in cybersecurity professions.  Lucas partnered with other individuals who were involved in businesses engaged in distributing or growing medical marijuana, including Company 2 and Company 3.  Company 2 was awarded a Stage One license pre-approval for a medical marijuana dispensary license by the Natalie M. LaPrade Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, and sought final approval from the Cannabis Commission.  Company 3 applied for a medical marijuana growing license in May 2019.

 Until her resignation on December 18, 2019, Cheryl Glenn was a Maryland State Delegate representing District 45, which covered portions of Baltimore. 

As detailed in the plea agreement, from May 22, 2018 through July 30, 2019, Lucas paid Glenn $42,500, defrauding the citizens of Maryland of the right to her honest services by providing bribes in exchange for Glenn’s official actions.  Specifically, Lucas paid bribes for Glenn to introduce legislation that included a provision requiring the award of contracts under the Cyber Warrior Diversity program to certain businesses that met specified criteria.  Company 1 met the criteria specified in the initial draft of the bill, although that provision was removed in the final bill.  Lucas also paid bribes to Glenn to help Company 2 to obtain final approval from the Cannabis Commission for a medical marijuana dispensary license.  Finally, Lucas paid bribes to Glenn to assist him with the Cannabis Commission to ensure that Company 3’s application for a medical marijuana growing license was selected during the “double-blind” review process.

Lucas admitted that he wrote checks made out to Glenn personally, not to her campaign committee, and that he provided her with cash payments.  Lucas made several statements that money was not an issue and that he would not leave anything to chance.  Lucas also assured Glenn that they would not be caught and stated “I’m from Baltimore for real, for real Baltimore . . . This is the least illegal thing I’ve ever done.  This is like patty-cake compared to the [expletive] in Baltimore City.”

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo J. Wise, who prosecuted the case.

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal jury in Maryland yesterday convicted Nigerian national Seun Banjo Ojedokun, age 37, for a money laundering conspiracy related to a romance scam and other fraud schemes.  

The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “This defendant was part of a conspiracy that stole from many vulnerable and elderly victims across the United States, defrauding them through lies and laundering the funds internationally.  The deceit used to steal from these victims was heartless, considering how vulnerable and financially devastated they were.  Ojedokun was in Nigeria when he was committing these crimes.  Law enforcement was able to arrest him when he came to the United States to attend school here.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to bringing to justice fraudsters who prey upon the elderly. We will continue our outreach efforts to make the public aware of scams and frauds targeting elderly victims and encourage anyone who believes they may be a victim to contact the newly launched Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311).”

“These targeted scams are all to prevalent and the FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, are diligently working to alert and protect the public from falling victim,” said Jennifer C. Boone, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “The arrest and conviction of Mr. Ojedokun, who was operating in Nigeria during the conspiracy, demonstrates the lengths that the FBI will go in order to hold accountable the people who commit these heinous crimes.” 

According to the evidence presented at his six-day trial, between 2013 and March 2015, Ojedokun conspired with Gbenga Benson Ogundele, Mukhtar Danjuma Haruna, a/k/a “Mukky,” and others to use money deposited into bank accounts by fraud victims to engage in financial transactions in order to promote the fraud scheme and conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the fraud proceeds.

According to evidence presented at trial, members of the conspiracy searched online dating websites to initiate romantic relationships with vulnerable men and women.  They phoned, e-mailed, texted and used Internet chat messenger services to form romantic relationships with the victims, who lived throughout the United States. 

Specifically, witnesses testified that members of the conspiracy used false stories and promises to convince the many victims to provide money to the conspirators, including fake hospital bills, plane trips to visit the victims, problems with overseas businesses, and foreign taxes.  Ogundele and other conspirators opened bank accounts, called “drop accounts,” in order to receive millions of dollars from the victims.  Testimony at trial showed that victims provided money to the conspirators as a result of the false stories and promises, either depositing money directly into drop accounts controlled by the conspirators, or by checks sent to the conspirators.  The loss to the eight victims who testified at trial was well over $1 million and the overall total loss was substantially higher.

In addition, the evidence at trial showed that the conspirators engaged in other types of fraud, including a fraudulent employment scam in which the victim was led to believe she had been hired by a company, and was instructed to deposit the proceeds of a fraudulent check into a drop account controlled by the conspirators.

According to the evidence, Ojedokun, Ogundele, Haruna, and their co-conspirators laundered money received from the fraud victims by buying used cars and shipping them to Nigeria, among other methods.  As part of the fraud schemes, Ojedokun and his co-conspirators transmitted and used images of financial transactions, including bank deposit receipts and wire transfer forms, as proof that a deposit of fraud money had been made by a victim.

Ogundele, age 61, formerly of Laurel, Maryland, was convicted in 2016 after a 17-day trial, of conspiracies to commit money laundering and wire fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft, and was sentenced to 234 months in federal prison.  Haruna, age 46, of Nigeria, remains a fugitive and charges against him are still pending.  In addition to Ogundele, eight other defendants were convicted for their roles in the fraud scheme and were sentenced to between a year and a day and 234 months in federal prison.

Ojedokun faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for January 20, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Windom and U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur represented the United States at trial.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar today sentenced MS-13 gang member Danny Hernandez Solarzano, a/k/a Titre, age 22, of Montgomery County, Maryland, to 210 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities, including two attempted murders and drug distribution. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge John Eisert of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Office; Acting Chief Patrick Grossman of the Frederick City Police Department; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith, III; Chief William Lowry of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess; Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha N. Braveboy; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland and our local and state partners are committed to keeping our communities safe from the violent threat of MS-13,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “We continue to work with our counterparts here and abroad to prevent gang violence and bring to justice those who bring danger to our streets.  We need the continued help of members of our communities in order to carry on our work against MS-13.”

MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.  Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County, Maryland.  Hernandez Solarzano admitted that from January 2016 through 2018, he was a member and associate of the Fulton Locotes Salvatrucha (FLS) clique of MS-13.

At all times of this conspiracy, members of MS-13 were expected to protect the name, reputation, and status of the gang from rival gang members and other persons.  To protect the gang and to enhance its reputation, MS-13 members were expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who showed disrespect, including acts of intimidation and violence.  MS-13 had mottos consistent with its rules, beliefs, expectations and reputation including “mata, viola, controla,” which translates as, “kill, rape, control,” and “ver, oir y callar,” which means, “see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing.”

MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang, as well as against rival gang members.  Participation in criminal activity by a member, particularly in violent acts directed at rival gangs or as directed by gang leadership, increase the respect accorded to that member, resulting in that member maintaining or increasing his position in the gang, and opens the door to a promotion to a leadership position.  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, often referred to as “chavalas,” whenever possible. 

According to his plea agreement, during the time of his membership in the FLS clique, Hernandez Solarzano and other FLS members distributed marijuana on behalf of MS-13 in Maryland and FLS members and associates also extorted money from legitimate and illegitimate businesses that operated in the gang’s perceived “territory.”  Hernandez Solarzano regularly sold marijuana in and around Wheaton and Langley Park in order to maintain and increase his position in MS-13.

As detailed in his plea agreement, in December 2016, Hernandez Solarzano and other MS-13 members and associates planned and conspired to murder two individuals whom they believed to be rival gang members.  Specifically, Hernandez Solarzano and two other FLS members traveled to Aspen Hill in Montgomery County, Maryland to find rival gang members, locating two individuals sitting in a parked car.  Believing the two individuals in the car were rival gang members, the group contacted a fourth FLS member to provide them with a handgun.  The fourth FLS member brought them the firearm and Hernandez Solarzano took possession of the handgun.  Hernandez Solarzano then walked up to the car and fired into the vehicle at close range, striking both individuals.  The victims both survived, but suffered serious physical injuries.  All of this was done to maintain and increase Hernandez Solarzano’s position in the gang.

A total of 30 defendants have been charged in this case with participating in a racketeering conspiracy and/or other crimes related to their association with MS-13.  A total of 19 defendants, including Hernandez Solarzano, have pleaded guilty to crimes related to their participation in MS-13 gang activities.

Anyone with information about MS-13 is encouraged to provide their tips to law enforcement.  The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations both have nationwide tiplines that you can call to report what you know.  You can reach the FBI at 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or you can call HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.                   

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI; HSI; the Frederick City Police Department; the Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County Police Departments; and the Anne Arundel, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County State’s Attorneys for their work in the investigation, and recognized the Baltimore County Police Department for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth S. Clark and Matthew DellaBetta, and Catherine K. Dick, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang today sentenced Marquis Von Clemons, age 38, of Langley Park, Maryland, to 92 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for bank robbery.  Judge Chuang also entered an order requiring Clemons to forfeit and to pay restitution in the amount of $5,080.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to Clemons’ plea agreement, on February 13, 2019, Clemons entered a bank in Hyattsville, approached the teller and passed the teller a note stating, “I have a gun, do not say anything.”  Fearing for her safety, the teller gave Clemons cash from the teller drawer.  Clemons then fled the bank with the money and note.  Surveillance cameras captured a masked Clemons in the bank, as well as his flight from the bank, during which Clemons discarded his mask and some of the distinctive clothes worn during the robbery.  Law enforcement recovered the clothing a short time later.

One week later, on February 19, 2019, Clemons entered the same bank wearing a mask and gloves.  The bank security guard, who was hired after the February 13th robbery, confronted Clemons and ordered him to remove the mask.  When Clemons did not remove his mask and instead attempted to reach into his pockets, the security guard, believing that Clemons was about to rob the bank, detained Clemons until law enforcement arrived.  When officers arrived at the bank, they searched Clemons and found a note in his pocket stating that he had a gun and demanding money.  When law enforcement questioned him, Clemons provided a fake name and social security number.  Law enforcement subsequently confirmed his true identity through his fingerprints.

A search warrant was subsequently executed at Clemons’ residence and law enforcement recovered the distinctive hat and shoes worn during the robbery on February 13th.  In addition, law enforcement subsequently recovered Clemons’ DNA from the clothing Clemons discarded during his flight from the February 13th bank robbery, as well as the distinctive hat and shoes recovered from Clemons’ residence.

Less than seven months before the robbery Clemons had been released from prison after serving a four year sentence for robbing the same bank.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the FBI and the Prince George’s Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rajeev R. Raghavan and Dana J. Brusca, who prosecuted the case.

# # #

 

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury today has indicted Charles Couser, age 27, of Baltimore, Maryland, on the federal charges of carjacking, using and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.

According to the five-count indictment, on January 31, 2020, Couser carjacked an individual at gunpoint.  The next day, the indictment alleges that Couser possessed cocaine and fentanyl with intent to distribute the drug.  Further, the indictment alleges that Couser possessed a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol and 14 .40-caliber jacketed flat point cartridges in furtherance of his drug distribution.  Finally, the indictment alleges that Couser knew that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition due to a previous felony conviction.

If convicted, Couser faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for carjacking; a mandatory seven years and a maximum of life in federal prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence; a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl; a mandatory five years and a maximum of life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and a maximum of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Couser is expected to have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore in the near future.  He is currently detained on related state charges.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Goldsticker, who is prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has agreed to pay the United States $10 million to settle claims that it improperly charged NIH-funded research grants for time spent by researchers on non-grant related activities such as developing, preparing, and writing new grant applications, teaching, and engaging in other administrative activities.

The settlement was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Assistant Attorney General Ethan P. Davis for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division; and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Federal grant recipients must use the grant funds they receive on tasks that specifically relate to the funded project.  Those that improperly charge the government for costs unrelated to the project must be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice have a duty to protect government resources and ensure they are used appropriately.”

“The NIH has finite resources to support important research across the nation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.  “Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to protect those resources by ensuring that NIH grants funds are used for the purposes for which they were intended.”  

“Taxpayers funds for medical research are finite and the need for scientific advances is great; therefore, it’s critical that these resources are used as intended,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.  “Working with our law enforcement partners, our investigators will continue to protect these resources so that they are spent appropriately.”

TSRI is a non-profit biomedical research institute with campuses located in Jupiter, Florida and La Jolla, California. TSRI receives millions of dollars in funding from NIH through hundreds of grants each year.  The settlement resolves allegations that between 2008 and 2016, TSRI failed to have a system in place for its faculty to properly account for time spent on activities that cannot be charged directly to NIH-funded projects or are unrelated to the research activities of the NIH-funded project.  Consequently, the United States contended that TSRI improperly charged time spent by faculty on developing, preparing, and writing new grant applications directly to existing NIH-funded projects, rather than allocating such charges as indirect costs.  The United States also alleged that TSRI improperly charged NIH-funded projects for time spent by its faculty on other activities unrelated to the funded projects, such as teaching, TSRI committee work, and other administrative tasks. 

The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Thomas Burris, Ph.D, a former TSRI employee.  The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery.  Dr. Burris will receive $1.75 million.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Burris v. The Scripps Research Institute, Case No. 1:15-CV-01443 (D. Md.).  The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow today sentenced former Baltimore City employee Gary Brown, Jr., age 38, of Baltimore, to 27 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and for filing a false tax return.  Judge Chasanow also ordered Brown to pay restitution of $14,000.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

“As a public servant, Gary Brown should have placed the interests of Baltimore City residents above his own,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Instead, Brown conspired with the former Mayor and others to line their own pockets and to avoid paying their taxes.  Baltimore City faces many pressing issues, and we need dedication and integrity from our public servants—not corruption—in order to solve them.  Law enforcement will continue to be vigilant for evidence of fraud and corruption, to ensure that our citizens receive the honesty and professionalism they deserve from government officials.” 

“Gary Brown displayed a flagrant abuse of power by deceiving and defrauding the public and the government for his own personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Boone, of the FBI's Baltimore division. “We have no tolerance for public corruption and will continue to root out violations of the law. The sentence today is the result of a partnership with the IRS Criminal Investigation, Department of Labor OIG and the Baltimore City Inspector General's Office.”

“Rather than setting an example for the citizens of Baltimore, Brown demonstrated a blatant disregard for the law,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Kelly R. Jackson.  “Brown not only neglected to accurately report his income to the IRS but he also falsified tax documents on behalf of others, actions which erode the confidence in public officials as well as our tax system.”

According to Brown’s plea agreement, from approximately 2011 until December 2016, Gary Brown, Jr. worked as a legislative aide to then-Maryland State Senator Catherine Pugh.  Brown actively campaigned for Pugh’s reelection to the State Senate in 2014 and served as her campaign aide during her 2016 mayoral election campaign.  Following Pugh’s election and inauguration as mayor of Baltimore City in December 2016, Brown was hired as the Deputy Director of Special Events in the mayor’s office.  In December 2016, Brown was nominated by the Maryland Democratic Central Committee to fill the vacancy in the Maryland House of Delegates created by Pugh’s mayoral victory.  However, the Governor withdrew Brown’s nomination after he was indicted for election law violations in January 2017.

Brown was the sole owner and operator of Stricker Abstracting, LLC, and GB Abstracting, LLC, both Maryland companies that purported to be title-abstracting businesses, and GBJ Consulting, LLC, a Maryland consulting business.  Brown ran all three companies from his residences in Baltimore.  Brown also freelanced as a tax return preparer.  Between March 2011 until March 2019, Brown helped Pugh promote and sell the Healthy Holly books.  Brown oversaw the transportation and storage of the books, drafted invoices, and corresponded with purchasers.  Much of Brown’s work on Healthy Holly occurred during work hours while serving as Pugh’s legislative aide and mayoral staff member.  Brown was not an employee of Healthy Holly and received no salary or compensation until approximately mid-2016 when he started to get sales commissions.  None of his companies received compensation for services purportedly provided to Healthy Holly.

Brown Wire Fraud Conspiracy

According to Gary Brown’s plea agreement, from November 2011 until March 2019, he conspired with Catherine Pugh to fraudulently sell and distribute tens of thousands of Healthy Holly books.  Brown admitted that over that period they executed the scheme in three ways: by selling the books, keeping the money and not delivering the books; by providing books to purchasers, but later converting them to their own use at campaign events and government functions; and by reselling books that had previously been purchased and donated to the Baltimore City Public Schools. 

Brown Conspiracy with Pugh to Defraud the United States

Further, as detailed in his plea agreement, Brown cashed checks Pugh wrote to him from the Healthy Holly account, then used the cash to fund money orders, debit cards, and personal checks in the names of straw donors, which were then submitted to the Committee to Elect Catherine Pugh.  Brown also admitted that he cashed some of the Healthy Holly checks and gave the cash to Pugh.  To conceal the straw-donation scheme and avoid paying taxes that might result from the scheme, Pugh and Brown provided false information to the IRS regarding the purpose of the Healthy Holly checks.   

Brown and Wedington Conspiracy to Defraud the United States/Filing False Tax Returns

Brown and former Baltimore City employee Rosyln Wedington both admitted that they conspired to avoid tax withholdings from Wedington’s payroll checks while Wedington was the Executive Director of the Maryland Center for Adult Training (MCAT) and Brown was the Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Specifically, in 2013, Wedington’s salary was garnished due to outstanding student loan debt and medical bills.  In order to avoid further garnishments, Wedington asked Brown to take her “off payroll,” which meant that MCAT would no longer submit her name to the payroll service provider for the purpose of calculating taxes to be withheld from her salary.  Brown agreed to the arrangement and had MCAT make electronic deposits into his personal bank account in an amount that exceeded the annual salary owed to Wedington, creating the pretense that he was doing work for MCAT as an independent contractor.  Brown then wrote checks to Wedington and/or gave her cash equal to or greater than her salary, which was more than $80,000 per year.  No taxes were withheld from the funds Brown paid to Wedington, nor did her salary go through Wedington’s bank account, where it could be garnished.  In addition, Brown prepared fraudulent tax returns for Wedington for tax years 2013 through 2017, which did not report Wedington’s MCAT income and made a variety of false entries, resulting in refunds to which Wedington was not entitled and avoiding over $121,000 in total taxes due and owing.  Brown also filed a false individual income tax return for tax year 2016 for himself, which falsely listed the $64,325 of Healthy Holly payments as business income.  In addition, from 2016 through 2018, Brown worked part-time as a freelance tax preparer and charged a fee to prepare dozens of tax returns that he filed on behalf of his family, friends, and associates.  Brown included false information in all of those tax returns in order to obtain larger refunds for his customers.  The fraudulently obtained refunds totaled more than $100,000.

Judge Chasanow previously sentenced Catherine Elizabeth Pugh, age 69, of Baltimore, Maryland, to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and two counts of tax evasion.  Judge Chasanow also ordered Pugh to pay $411,948 in restitution and to forfeit $669,688 including property on Ellamont Road in Baltimore and $17,800 from the Committee to Re-elect Catherine Pugh.

Roslyn Wedington, age 50, of Rosedale, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to five counts of filing false tax returns.  Wedington faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States, and three years in prison for each count of filing a false tax return.  Judge Chasanow has not yet scheduled sentencing for Wedington.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation for their work in the investigation and thanked the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations - Labor Racketeering and Fraud, the Maryland State Prosecutor’s Office, and the Baltimore City Office of Inspector General for their assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Martin J. Clarke and Leo J. Wise, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur announced today that the Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office has awarded grants totaling nearly $8 million to advance the practice of community policing in law enforcement, including more than $1.3 million in Maryland.

“I am so pleased these grants have been awarded to agencies in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Community policing strategies are proven to help reduce violent crime and these funds will help state and local law enforcement in Maryland to implement the best practices.”

Community Policing Development (CPD) program funds are used to develop the capacity of law enforcement to implement community policing by providing guidance on promising practices through the development and testing of innovative strategies; building knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; and supporting new, creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities.

The following grants were awarded in Maryland:

Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation Badges for Baseball Program

$200,000

International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training Active Learning Modalities for the Next Generation of Police Academies

$499,996

International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training State Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Program Enhancements

$600,000   

International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training State POST Training and Curriculum Standards for Human Trafficking

$79,637

The full list of awards is available on the COPS Office website at: https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2020AwardDocs/cpd/Award_List.pdf.

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide.  Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 134,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III today sentenced Davon Nelson, age 35, of Baltimore, today to 11 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of fentanyl and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.  Nelson, a career offender, had numerous prior state conviction for drug related offenses. 

This case is part of a federal-state initiative to combat the fentanyl crisis in Maryland.  Under this initiative, titled the “Synthetic Opioid Surge,” or “SOS” for short, every arrest involving distribution of fentanyl made by law enforcement in Baltimore is reviewed jointly by the State’s Attorney’s Office for Baltimore City, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine whether the case will be handled in the state or federal system.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting more cases involving fentanyl as a result of this program.  The use of federal resources and statutes, which carry significant terms of imprisonment, is necessary to prosecute those individuals who pose the greatest threat to public safety in distributing lethal doses of fentanyl.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; State’s Attorney for Baltimore City Marilyn Mosby; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

“Drug traffickers are on notice that dealing in fentanyl increases their odds of federal prosecution under the fentanyl SOS program,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur. “The cooperation of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, the DEA, and the Baltimore Police Department in reviewing every fentanyl case to determine those cases appropriate for federal prosecution is just one example of the efforts we are making to reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths in Maryland.  As a result of this collaboration, Davon Nelson will now spend 11 years in federal prison, where there is no parole—ever.”

According to Nelson’s plea agreement, on September 5, 2018, a Baltimore Police Department officer observed Nelson distribute a baggie containing 200 fentanyl gel capsules to co-defendant Terrell Perry.  The BPD officer called in an arrest team and Perry was arrested.  A search of Perry recovered the baggie of 200 fentanyl gel caps.  At the time Perry was arrested, Nelson had left the block on foot.  Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Nelson’s van and recovered an additional 200 gel caps of fentanyl powder.  The total amount of fentanyl recovered was at least 32 grams, but no more than 40 grams, which is enough fentanyl to kill at least 16,000 people.

Following his arrest, Nelson called his girlfriend from pre-trial detention facilities and directed her to move “the white stuff” from underneath his tub and to give it to an associate so that person could sell it.  Further, Nelson directed his girlfriend to lie to the police if they came to interview her about Nelson and directed his girlfriend to also have her mother lie to police, if she were interviewed.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Nelson admitted that his calls to his girlfriend were an attempt to obstruct justice.

Terrell Perry, age 36, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, the DEA, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher M. Rigali, who prosecuted the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – Egan Davis, age 40, of Nottingham, Maryland, pleaded guilty today and co-defendant Amin Boyd, age 42, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty on September 8, 2020, to federal drug distribution charges related to their participation in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and/or fentanyl in the Monument Street area of East Baltimore.  U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced co-defendant, Andre Lemon, age 40, of Baltimore, yesterday to nine years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in the conspiracy.

The guilty pleas and sentence were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

“The Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force is a critical part of our strategy to make Baltimore safer by identifying and focusing on those groups responsible for the most violent crime in our city,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “The Monument Street area is one of the first areas the Strike Force has targeted and we anticipate that Strike Force cases will make these neighborhoods safer for the law-abiding citizens that live there.”

According to their guilty pleas, in July of 2018, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Strike Force Group 1 began an investigation of the Monument Street corridor in East Baltimore, which is known to support a high volume of street-level drug distribution and acts of violence associated with the drug trafficking.  During the investigation, law enforcement identified multiple street-level drug trafficking “shops,” with the two most prominent located in the 400 block of North Montford Avenue at Jefferson Street (“the Montford DTO”) and in the 2400 block of East Monument Street at Port Street (the “Out the Mud,” or “OTM DTO”). 

As detailed in their plea agreements, Davis supplied drugs to the Montford and OTM drug trafficking organizations, among others and Boyd was a wholesale drug customer of members of the conspiracy.   Investigators identified Lemon as an associate of a source of supply also charged in the conspiracy.  Law enforcement overheard the defendants discussing the distribution of drugs, including powder and crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl, among others.

Law enforcement executed search warrants at residences associated with Davis and Lemon in January and May 2019, respectively, recovering over two kilograms of cocaine; drug paraphernalia, including digital scales, and packaging materials; more than $51,300 in cash, believed to be drug proceeds; and a fully loaded .410 caliber “the Judge” handgun, along with additional .410 caliber ammunition, which Lemon admitted he possessed in connection to his drug trafficking activities.  Lemon is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition as a result of a previous felony conviction.

Throughout the course of their involvement, it was reasonably foreseeable to Davis and Lemon, and within the scope of the conspiracy that they or other members of the conspiracy would distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, as well as quantities of cocaine base, heroin, and fentanyl during the course of and in furtherance of the conspiracy.  It was reasonably foreseeable to Boyd, and within the scope of the conspiracy that he or other members of the conspiracy would distribute at least 500 grams but less than two kilograms of cocaine, as well as quantities of cocaine base, heroin and fentanyl during the course of and in furtherance of the conspiracy. 

Davis, Boyd and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts their plea agreements, Davis and Boyd will be sentenced to 10 years and seven years in federal prison, respectively.  Judge Hollander has scheduled sentencing for Davis and Boyd on December 8, 2020. 

Of the 25 defendants indicted in this case, eleven—including Lemon, Davis, and Boyd—have pleaded guilty.  The remaining defendants have trial dates in January or May 2021.

This case was investigated as part of the Baltimore Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force, an initiative designed to combat violent crime in Baltimore.  The mission of the Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle the most violent gangs and drug trafficking organizations, and their financial infrastructure, in the Baltimore metropolitan area.  In addition to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, members of the Strike Force include the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, DEA, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA, the Maryland State Police, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, the Maryland National Guard, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and Anne Arundel County Police Departments, and the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys LaRai Everett and James T. Wallner, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury today indicted Zhiyang Yang, age 60, formerly of Silver Spring, Maryland, on federal charges for bribing an immigration official.  Yang will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, but no date has been set.  Yang remains detained on a federal criminal complaint previously filed in this case.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Moreland of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR); and Special Agent in Charge Ray Villanueva of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.

According to the criminal complaint, on three occasions between September 27 and October 25, 2019, Yang, a Chinese national who is illegally present in the United States, made bribe payments of $100, $200, and $700 in order to secure more favorable conditions of required reporting to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The indictment alleges that on February 14, 2020, Yang provided $5,000 to an undercover HSI agent as a down payment in order to obtain an illegal Permanent Resident Card, which would reflect that Yang had legal status in the United States.

If convicted, Yang faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for bribery of a public official.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Neither an indictment nor a criminal complaint is a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment or criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended ICE OPR and HSI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Wright, who is prosecuting the case.

# # #

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Marcus Street, age 25, of Baltimore, Maryland, with federal charges for production of child pornography. 

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur;  Special Agent in Charge John Eisert of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.

The two count indictment alleges that on or about November 14, 2019, Street used the camera on his cellular phone to create videos documenting his sexual abuse of a 14-year-old minor.

If convicted, Street faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison on each of the two counts of production of child pornography.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Street will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore at a later date.  He is currently detained on related state charges.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.       

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel A. Loveland, Jr. and Ayn B. Ducao, who are prosecuting the federal case.

# # #