Federal Indictment Charges 16 In Violent Baltimore Drug Distribution Conspiracy
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging 16 individuals in a violent drug distribution conspiracy operating in the Edmondson Village neighborhood in southwest Baltimore.
Fourteen defendants have been arrested and of those, 12 have been ordered to be detained pending trial.
The following defendants, all from Baltimore, are charged in the indictment:
- Justin Antoine, a/k/a Justo, age 23;
- Rodney Bass, a/k/a Boo, age 57;
- Corey Bell, a/k/a Bell, age 38;
- Davon Boykin, age 33;
- Calvin Claxton, a/k/a Cal, age 39;
- Cortney Crawley, a/k/a C Murda, age 25;
- Eryica Davis, a/k/a Miss Cookie, age 45;
- Cedric Hite, a/k/a Hector, age 68;
- William Jackson, age 56;
- Raekwon Jones, a/k/a Kwon, age 20;
- Ronald Jones, age 51;
- Shelton Lewis, age 54;
- Adam Martin, a/k/a Fats, age 36;
- Rodney Matthews, a/k/a Rod, age 20;
- Neal Pinkney, age 52; and
- Robert Williams, a/k/a Uncle Rob, age 62.
The six-count superseding indictment alleges that from at least 2018 to June 20, 2019, the defendants were members and associates of the Adam Martin and Calvin Claxton drug trafficking organization, and conspired to distribute heroin, powder cocaine and crack cocaine to drug users and redistributors in and around the Edmondson Village neighborhood of southwest Baltimore.
According to the superseding indictment, members of the drug trafficking organization used residences in and around Baltimore to process, cut, package and prepare the drugs for distribution.
According to the superseding indictment, the members of the conspiracy used violence to retaliate against those seeking to rob or cheat the drug trafficking organization. The superseding indictment details several of these acts, including a shooting murder on May 5, 2018, a gunfight on October 16, 2018 in which an unarmed bystander was struck in the crossfire, and the planned robbery of an unlicensed taxi driver.
As detailed in the superseding indictment, during the course of the investigation law enforcement seized at least 10 firearms, ammunition, drugs and more than $20,000 in drug proceeds.
If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of life in prison for the conspiracy.
