MD drug world/"the wire" 4real

[Qdawg]

Drug arrests // District drug unit officers raided a house in the 1600 block of Druid Hill Ave. on Tuesday, arrested a man and woman and seized 12 vials of crack cocaine, a gel cap containing heroin, a loaded .45-caliber handgun and drug paraphernalia. Charged with drug and weapon offenses and held at Central Booking and Intake Center were Damon Byrd, 22, and Anita Little, 45.

[Qdawg]

Hyattsville man pleads guilty in drug case
He faces possible life sentence, $4 million fine on cocaine, weapons charges
Originally published June 26, 2006

GREENBELT // A Hyattsville man who pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of ammunition faces a possible life sentence and a $4 million fine.

George E. Smith, 39, entered his guilty plea on the eve of his trial set to begin tomorrow.

According to court documents, Smith said that in 2003 he joined a group that imported cocaine and heroin from Guatemala to sell in and around Maryland and other states. Smith said before his arrest in 2004 that he received several car batteries which concealed more than 11 pounds of powder cocaine, according to court documents.

On February 20, 2004, law enforcement officials conducted a series of search warrants including one at Smith's home where agents found, among other things, a car battery, a microwave oven containing crack cocaine residue, 9 mm ammunition, $33,769 and several guns.

Prosecutors said various ledger sheets seized from a codefendant's home and from Smith's residence on Rambler Drive in Hyattsville reflect drug debts consistent with large-quantity transactions.

Smith had previously been convicted of a felony offense in Montgomery County Circuit Court on June 18, 1993, and was prohibited from possessing ammunition.

Smith faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $4 million fine, prosecutors said. Smith also agreed to forfeit the $33,000 seized from his residence, prosecutors said. Smith is scheduled to be sentenced in September.

[Qdawg]

Correctional officer accused of smuggling marijuana
Originally published June 27, 2006

A 22-year-old correctional officer has been charged with smuggling marijuana into a Baltimore prison for an inmate, authorities said yesterday.

Antwan Blackwell of the 3900 block of Dorchester Road was arrested Friday at the Metropolitan Transition Center and charged with possession and possession with intent to sell marijuana, and two counts of intent to deliver to an inmate, according to charging documents.

Blackwell underwent a procedural search for contraband about 8:30 a.m. by a fellow officer when he entered the institution's inner compound. The officer found a medium-sized clear plastic sandwich bag containing "a greenish brown leafy material," according to charging documents.

Blackwell told authorities that he had arranged to deliver the marijuana to an inmate in exchange for $100, the documents said.

Blackwell was released the next day pending proceedings.

Mark A. Vernarelli, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, said last night he could not access records on Blackwell's employment.

[Qdawg]

Man sentenced on drug, weapons charges
Ex-gang member gets 22 1/2 years in prison for selling cocaine, crack
Originally published June 27, 2006

A Baltimore man was sentenced today to 22 1/2 years in prison and five years supervised release for dealing drugs and using a gun while committing drug crimes.

According to court documents, Charles Garrison, 36, was involved in dealing cocaine, crack and heroin. Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said Garrison also carried various guns while dealing drugs.

As part of his plea agreement in federal court, Garrison admitted he murdered James McNeely on March 7, 2004. McNeely was a former member of a drug gang and sold cocaine, crack and heroin with Garrison and others from various locations in East Baltimore.

According to court documents, Garrison was hired by another member of the drug gang to murder McNeely. Garrison pleaded guilty in state court to first-degree murder on Dec. 29, 2004. His sentencing for the murder charge is pending.

[Qdawg]

Baltimore Man Found With Over 50 Pounds Of Pot

(WJZ) BALTIMORE,MD A Baltimore man has been indicted on drug charges after complaints he was selling marijuana by his downtown residence.

John Arbuckle, 33, was arrested for manufacturing marijuana and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana in excess of fifty pounds. He also faces other narcotics charges.

Court documents allege that on June 9, 2006, police received a complaint that a white male, later identified as Arbuckle, was selling marijuana from a premise in the 1900 block of East Pratt Street and was using the same premise to store a narcotic substance.

On June 13, 2006 a search and seizure warrant was issued for the location and police recovered suspected marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.

Arbuckle faces up to 19 years in prison and up to $33,500 in fines.

An arraignment is scheduled for July 31, 2006 before Judge John M. Glynn, 236 Mitchell Courthouse. Arbuckle was released on $350,000 bail. Christopher Mason, Assistant State's Attorney, will prosecute this case.

[Qdawg]

Edgewood man gets 10 years for selling cocaine
20-year-old had loaded gun when he was arrested in Aberdeen in 2005
Originally published July 24, 2006

A 20-year-old Edgewood man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for selling cocaine in Aberdeen, according to federal prosecutors.

Sathire Zach Robinson was arrested March 31, 2005, outside the Knights Inn Motel on Route 40. Police said they had stopped him because they believed he was an accomplice to an earlier shoplifting of an appliance, and also because they had received a call about a man with a gun in the area.

Police said an officer searched Robinson and found a loaded Ruger P-90 .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun in his waistband, along with a plastic bag containing 37 smaller bags of cocaine base, weighing in total 31.7 grams.

[Qdawg]

Woman sentenced to prison for role in crack network
Published July 25

GREENBELT, Md. -- A woman involved in a crack and cocaine distribution network was sentenced today in U-S District Court in Greenbelt. U-S Attorney Rod Rosenstein says 39-year-old Donna Faulkner was sentenced to five years, eight months in prison. She was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack.

After her sentence ends, she faces five years of supervised release. Two others, Thomas Swinney and Wolfgang Gadson, have already been sentenced as part of the 19 member drug organization. Rosenstein says the drug organization sold cocaine and crack in Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Charles and Calvert counties.

[Qdawg]

Drug case tossed out on appeal
U.S. judge in Baltimore encouraged guilty pleas
Originally published July 26, 2006

A federal appeals court threw out yesterday convictions that sent three Baltimore gang members to prison for decades, saying the presiding judge had improperly encouraged the defendants to plead guilty.

"We can only conclude that the district court's role as an advocate for the Defendants' guilty pleas affected the fairness, integrity, and public reputation of judicial proceedings," Judge Diana G. Motz wrote for the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals based in Richmond, Va.

Interviewed after the decision was announced yesterday, the federal judge in Baltimore, Andre M. Davis, admitted he overreached.

"I think the panel got it right," Davis said. "I think I crossed the line. Even the best judges sometimes makes mistakes."

Court transcripts show that Davis directly helped broker a deal for plea agreements. He also warned the defendants in the middle of their 2002 trial that they probably faced a life prison sentence if convicted by a jury.

But after encouraging reputed gang leader Eric L. Bennett to plead guilty to drug and weapons charges, Davis sentenced Bennett to a life sentence anyway. Davis declined yesterday to explain why. At the time, federal judges were required to follow sentencing guidelines, which are now considered advisory.

Two of Bennett's top lieutenants, Solomon Jones, now 26, and Tavon Bradley, now 27, also admitted their guilt. Davis sentenced Jones to 60 years in federal prison and Bradley to 24 1/2 years. Both later received separate prison sentences on state charges, according to Jones' attorney, Harvey Greenberg.

In her opinion yesterday, Motz concluded that Davis did not "improperly intend to coerce involuntary guilty pleas." Still, the appeals court judge found that Davis "repeatedly appeared to be an advocate for the pleas rather than a neutral arbiter."

Now all three convictions in federal court needed to be tossed out because of Davis' error, Motz ruled. She also ordered that any new trial for the men should be assigned to a different federal judge in Baltimore.

Yesterday, Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said the men would be charged and, if needed, tried again. All three are still in custody.

The rare rebuke for a sitting judge highlighted the different levels of activism allowed for judges in state and federal courts. In Maryland state courts, judges are permitted to take a direct role in prodding prosecutors and defense attorneys into plea agreements to avoid trial. But in federal court, the rules are different.

"Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 governs guilty pleas and clearly prohibits a court from participating in plea negotiations," wrote Motz, who is the wife of Judge J. Frederick Motz of the U.S. District Court for Maryland.

Even during the plea negotiations, Davis, a former state judge in Baltimore, appeared to know that his conduct might not stand up under review.

"This is very dangerous because ... an appellate court could regard the Court's actions as inappropriate, and, in some form or fashion, coercive," Davis said.

Still, Davis insisted from the bench that he was not forcing the defendants to plead guilty, only attempting to show them the risks of a jury trial, according to transcripts of court proceedings.

At one point, Davis lamented that the defendants had rejected offers to plead guilty. He added that "nobody can ever predict what a jury is going to do, but from all appearances, this is one of the strongest cases ever to be brought in this courthouse."

The case started in August 2000 with an indictment in U.S. District Court against Bennett, the reputed leader of a crack cocaine ring that stretched from street corners in Northeast Baltimore to Main Street in Westminster.

Federal prosecutors argued that Bennett's drug gang, known as the "Old York and Cator Boys," routinely used violence to protect its turf. Bennett ordered a pair of drive-by shootings Jan. 18, 2000, that left two young men dead, according to prosecutors.

"Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Eric Bennett managed to wield power and influence and enjoyed fierce and unquestioning loyalty from his fellow conspirators," Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew G.W. Norman wrote to the judges on the 4th Circuit appellate court.

[Qdawg]

Drug arrests // A man, his wife and two other people were arrested Tuesday afternoon at Charles Street and North Avenue by members of the district drug enforcement unit after officers observed them selling clonazepam, a prescribed drug used by methadone patients to get a high similar to heroin, said Detective David Jones. Charged with possession of and distributing the drug was Ashley Jones, 23, of the first block of Upland Road in Roland Park. Charged with conspiracy to distribute the drug were her husband, Bradley Jones, 31, also of Upland Road, and Twylin Simmons, 47, of the 1700 block of St. Paul St. Charged with drug possession was Wayne Savage, 57, of the 100 block of S. Central Ave., from whom police reported seizing four clonazepam pills.

[Qdawg]

[quote="Qdawg"]Maryland Police Seek Rapper Accused Of Supplying Alleged Md. Drug Ring


BALTIMORE, Maryland -- After a yearlong investigation, Maryland authorities announced the arrests of a Cecil County, Maryland family and others who they accuse of importing Cocaine into Maryland and allegedly planned to resell the drugs in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Maryland authorities have seized over $200,000 and various amounts of Cocaine and Marijuana during traffic stops and executions of at least seven search warrants. And Maryland State Police are looking for a rap singer who they say helped supply the drug ring allegedly run by a Conowingo-area family.
Nichols, 21, turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday and authorities said he posted his $100,000 bond Thursday morning. He faces charges that include drug kingpin, Cocaine distribution, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute large amounts of Cocaine and conspiracy to import Cocaine into the state.
Maryland authorities observed Richard Harris meet with Nichols in the Perryville area. Harris, 27, is a rap recording artist from Philadelphia known as "Filthy Rich." Police believe he was the Nichols' family primary supplier. Maryland police said officers later stopped Harris on Interstate 95 and seized $45,500. Authorities charged Harris with Marijuana possession, but he posted bond at that time.
Investigators anticipate additional charges and more arrests to come as the investigation continues. Maryland authorities continue to search for Richard Harris and ask anyone with additional information to call the Cecil County Drug Task Force by dialing (410) 392-0880.[/quote]

Nine Indicted In Suspected Cocaine Ring

BALTIMORE -- Nine men have been indicted in a suspected cocaine and crack cocaine ring in Elkton.

The indictment was handed down by a Baltimore grand jury in May, but announced Wednesday. It included five men from Cecil County, two from Pennsylvania and one each from Delaware and Arizona.

The indictments came after the 2005 conviction of Richard Harris, 30, of Philadelphia, who admitted to giving cocaine and crack cocaine to distributors in Cecil County. The nine men incited this year are accused of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine between 2004 and April 2006.

The indicted Maryland men include Hassan Hopkins, 33, Dequan Copeland, 27, Tylon Estep, 27, and Lemonte Brown, 29 -- all of Elkton -- and Nigel John-Baptiste, 44, of North East. Copeland, Estep and one other man remain at large.

[Qdawg]

Drug arrests // Two men were arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with possession with intent to distribute at least $10,000 worth of crack cocaine after the driver of their car was stopped by Maryland Transportation Authority Police for following too closely on Interstate 895 near the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. In the trunk and seat pocket of the 1994 Oldsmobile, police said they found nearly a pound of the drug. Held at Central Booking and Intake Center were the driver, Joseph Shropshire Jr., 26, of Abingdon and the passenger, Kenyon Shawn Westbrook, 26, of the 4500 block of St. Georges Ave. in Baltimore.