BGF Leader Sentenced To Over 10 Years In Prison In Baltimore Jail Racketeering Conspiracy

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Jamar Anderson, age 24, of Baltimore, today to 121 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for participating in a racketeering conspiracy that included the smuggling of drugs and contraband inside the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC). Judge Hollander ordered that 60 months of his federal sentence will be served consecutive to the state murder sentence that he is currently serving.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Secretary Gregg Hershberger of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.

This case was developed as a result of the efforts of the Maryland Prison Task Force, formed in 2011 with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors. The Task Force has met regularly for over three years, generating recommendations to reform prison procedures and producing leads that have been pursued by state, local and federal criminal investigators. The investigation is continuing.

According to court documents, the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) has been the dominant gang at the BCDC, and in several connected facilities, including the Baltimore Central Booking Intake Center (BCBIC), the Women’s Detention Center, which houses many men, and in the Jail Industries Building.

According to his plea agreement, Anderson is a member of the BGF and was in pretrial custody at BCDC from 2012 to 2013. During that time, Anderson often directed correctional officers to smuggle contraband into BCDC, including cell phones, tobacco and drugs. In return, the correctional officers received payments, gifts or a share of the profits. Anderson knew many correctional officers involved in contraband trafficking, and had sexual relationships with two of them. Anderson and his closest BGF allies frequently used others to obtain contraband from outside the prison, and hold it or deliver it to correctional officers for smuggling.

Twenty-four of the 44 defendants charged in the conspiracy have pleaded guilty, including 14 correctional officers. One defendant has died. Trial is scheduled to begin November 17, 2014 for the remaining defendants.

U.S. Attorney Rosenstein recognized the efforts of the other members of the Maryland Prison Task Force, including: Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; United States Marshal Johnny Hughes; Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Tom Carr, Director of the Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area; and Dave Engel, Executive Director of the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Baltimore Police Department, and Maryland Prison Task Force, for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Robert R. Harding and Ayn B. Ducao, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.