Watch CBS News

Former Md. Correctional Officer Gets 15 Years For Crips Conspiracy, Smuggling Contraband Into Prisons

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A former Maryland correctional officer has been sentenced for participating in gang activity and smuggling contraband.

Antoine Fordham, 33, pled guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to establish and entrench a gang, participating in a criminal gang, committing a felonious hate crime, soliciting assault in the first degree, misconduct in office and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

He is sentenced to 35 years in prison with all but 20 years suspended.

Fordham had been employed by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services as a sergeant while at the same time acting as a gang leader for the Eight-Tray Crips.

The correctional officer had used his position to promote and "enrich" the Crips gang by means of contraband smuggling and violence inside prison facilities.

As Crips leader, Fordham oversaw gang members inside and outside of prison, using the prison's phone system and contraband cell phones. He would use information from both incarcerated members and those on the outside to authorize violence and assign gang members to attack others.

A search warrant in his home revealed an assault rifle and a handgun, along with synthetic marijuana and multiple handwritten Crips manifestos detailing the history of the 8-Trey Crips as well as their rules, sanctions and organizational structures.

25 others were convicted for their roles in the contraband conspiracy or the gang- including another correctional officer, Phillipe Jordan, who pled guilty to smuggling items into prisons in Maryland.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.