12 charged after seizure of guns, drugs in West Baltimore as part of city's violent crime plan
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore police and city leaders on Tuesday announced the arrests of 12 people allegedly connected with a violent criminal group, as well as the seizure of drugs and seven guns.
The arrests are the result of a two-month-long investigation as part of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy, which brings city resources together with social services to address the causes of shootings and stop people from turning to violence.
Those charged are alleged members of the Princess Plaza social network, which operated at the Princess Plaza in West Baltimore. Two 17-year-old boys and 10 men face criminal charges.
Investigators believe the suspects are tied to five attempted murders, most of which occurred in West Baltimore. An investigation began in June after several instances of violence.
Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said the suspects have previously been charged with violent crimes such as armed robbery, attempted murder and even murder.
BPD and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) executed search and seizure warrants on multiple locations, which yielded a trove of guns -- including a sawed-off shotgun -- 85 grams of suspected fentanyl, over 150 gel caps of suspected heroin and over $21,000 in cash.
"This announcement is the first of many in sharing our progress and commitment to reducing homicides and non-fatal shootings as part of the Mayor's Group Violence Reduction Strategy," Harrison said. "We are committed to using all the tools available in both our short- and long-term crime strategies to reduce violent crimes in our city."
The ten adult suspects were identified as Darryl Robinson, 37, Antonio Ford, 35, very McMorris, 24, Duwan Coates, 36, Ondrai Evans, 49, Tremaine Evans, 21, Atif Washington, 18, Brandon Long, 37, Keyon Bryant, 20, and Phillip Smith, 18.
As juveniles, the two 17-year-olds charged were not identified.
Both Mayor Brandon Scott and Harrison said in a press conference that some may have posted bail, but could not confirm whether any had done so.
The violence reduction strategy has now resulted in 87 arrests to date.
The city tried and failed at implementing the GVRS strategy twice before under Mayors Kurt Schmoke and Stephanie Rawlings Blake, but Shantay Jackson, Director of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, says her office is taking the time to scale the program properly.
"Under MONSE's leadership and in partnership with BPD, the State's Attorney's Office, other local, state, and federal agencies, and community-based organizations, we will continue to build on this strong foundation as we work to scale GVRS to more of the city in the coming months," Jackson said.
