United States Drug Enforcement Administration

Baltimore, MD. – A 10-month investigation by the Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force into violence and drug dealing in the area of Pennsylvania and North Avenues in West Baltimore has led to six federal indictments charging a total of 29 defendants for conspiracy, drug distribution, and firearms charges.  The defendants are allegedly members of six different drug crews, each using a different name for their drugs, operating in a several block area in Penn North.  The indictments remained sealed until today, as the majority of the defendants have now been arrested and had their initial appearances. Twenty-three defendants have been arrested.  Five defendants are fugitives and a sixth defendant absconded from pretrial release. 

The indictments were announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; Jonathan Lenzner, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Orville Greene, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Baltimore District Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Secretary Robert Green of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately $935,000 in cash, $70,000 worth of luxury jewelry, including Rolex watches, four kilograms of fentanyl—enough to kill 200,000 people, as well as quantities of cocaine and heroin, and nine firearms.

The first indictment (20-0268), returned on August 25, 2020, charges Wesley Clash, age 38; Dashelle Claridy, age 24; Vincent Davis, age 41; Myesha Jones, age 25; and Kevin Riggins, age 26, all of Baltimore, with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, and crack and powder cocaine using the name “Dirty Sprite,” beginning no later than July 2019.  Jones, Clash, and Claridy are also charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Kevin Riggins is a fugitive and Vincent Davis absconded from his pretrial release.

The second indictment (20-0269) was also returned on August 25, 2020.  The 12-count indictment charges Jerold Gilliam, age 40; Akeem Ross, age 29; Charles Bond, age 25; Trevor Connors, age 50; Gilbert Conway, age 44; James Meekins, age 35; Isaiah Timms, age 28; Marquese Ward, age 30; and Welton Whittington, Jr., age 30, all of Baltimore for their participation in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and crack cocaine, using the name “Bullseye,” beginning in August 2019.  Ross, Bond, Meekins Connors, and Gilliam are also charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Ward, Ross, Connors are charged with being felons in possession of a firearm and Ross and Connors are also charged with possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Akeem Ross is a fugitive.

Five defendants are charged in a nine-count indictment (20-0385) that was returned by a federal grand jury on November 10, 2020.  Ronald Green, age 47; Kinnard Riggs, age 46; Malik Gilmore, age 25; Edward Baker, age 36; Clifton Bryant, age 51; and Lawrence Nichols, age 50, all of Baltimore, allegedly participated in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl using the name “Special,” from August 2019 through at least December 2019.  Green, Riggs, Bryant, and Nichols are also charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Green and Riggs are each charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and with possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense.  Lawrence Nichols is believed to be deceased.

A federal grand jury indicted (20-0386) Jerome Willingham, age 33, of Baltimore on November 10, 2020, charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl that Willingham branded as “Lamar Jackson,” beginning in at least January 2020.  Willingham is also charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.  Willingham is a fugitive.

Torico Reaves, age 48; Michael Bowles, age 57, Shawn Jackson, age 48; Lafonte Johnson, age 40; Robert Ross, Jr., age 54; Albert Shields, age 51; and Kevin Toppin, age 33, all of Baltimore, are charged in a five-count indictment (20-0443) with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl between at least October 2019 and April 2020, using the brand name “Master P” for their fentanyl.  The indictment was returned on December 9, 2020.  Reaves, Toppin, Bowles, Jackson, and Ross are also charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Jackson is a fugitive.

Finally, Jacquez Maith-Bost, age 29, of Baltimore was indicted (20-0440) on December 9, 2020, charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and crack cocaine on March 11, 2020, using the name “D. Rose”.  Maith-Bost is also charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

The defendants face a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison for the conspiracy; a maximum of 20 year in federal prison for each count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; a maximum of life in federal prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.  All of the defendants have had an initial appearance.  Gilliam, Bond, Connors, Conway, Ward, Riggs, and Shields were ordered to be detained and the remaining defendants were released with conditions, under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services.

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 prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, A DEA-lead, multi-agency task force comprised of teams that work side-by-side in the same location to combat drug and violent crime issues across the Baltimore, Maryland area.  This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks.  The specific mission of the Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force is to reduce violent, drug-related, and gang crime in the Baltimore area and surrounding region.

SAC Jarod Forget commended the Baltimore Police Department, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for their work in the investigation and thanked the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for its assistance.  SAC Forget also thanked Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles D. Austin, and James T. Wallner, who are prosecuting the case.

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