Baltimore Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison in Violent Crack Cocaine and Heroin Conspiracy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                           at (410) 209-4855

Baltimore, Maryland – On August 15, 2017, U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Theodore Smith (AKA Money), age 41, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 180 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine.

The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Baltimore District Office; Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.

Smith was a member of a drug trafficking conspiracy, which, according to his plea agreement, operated an open-air drug market near the 600 block of Glenwood Avenue in the Woodbourne-McCabe neighborhood of Baltimore. Smith and his co-conspirators oversaw the distribution of the organization's signature orange-top vials of crack cocaine throughout various locations in Baltimore. Members of the conspiracy purchased cocaine and converted it to crack by cooking it in their stash houses. Smith and his co-conspirators used residences in and around North Baltimore to cut, package, and store the narcotics.

According to the plea agreement, Smith was in charge of overseeing and managing the distribution of crack cocaine on the streets, collecting proceeds from sales, making sure the organization had a sufficient supply of cocaine, and cooking cocaine into crack cocaine.

On June 16, 2016, law enforcement seized over 1100 orange-top vials of crack cocaine from a stash house used by the organization.

Some members of the conspiracy committed acts of violence in furtherance of the organization's activities and routinely carried firearms. In an attempt to avoid detection, Smith and his co-conspirators frequently changed phones and conducted counter surveillance of law enforcement. The proceeds from the sale of the narcotics were used to expand the drug operation and to pay for legal counsel for other members who were arrested for trafficking narcotics.

The other members of the conspiracy included

• Darryl Scott, age 32, of Baltimore, Maryland

  • Sentenced to 135 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release

     

• Anthony Hart, age 34, of Baltimore, Maryland

  • Sentenced to 168 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release

     

• Tarik Brooks, age 42, of Baltimore, Maryland

  • Sentenced to 151 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release

     

• Jermaine Epps, age 42, of Baltimore County, Maryland

  • Sentenced to 108 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release

     

• Darren Farmer, age 27, of Baltimore, Maryland

  • Sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release

     

• Terry Downs, age 24, of Baltimore, Maryland

  • Sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release

     

• Asante Leroy Marshall, age 23, of Baltimore, Maryland

  • Sentenced to 50 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release

     

• Eddie Lewis, age 25, of Baltimore, Maryland

  • Sentenced to 106 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release

     

• Charles Gilliam, Jr, age 49, of Baltimore County, Maryland

  • Has pled guilty, awaits sentencing

     

• Leon Koger, age 46, of Baltimore, Maryland

  • Has pled guilty, awaits sentencing

     

• Akia Owens, age 31, of Baltimore, Maryland

  • Has pled guilty, awaits sentencing

Gilliam, Koger and Owens remain detained while they await sentencing.

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the DEA, the Baltimore City Police and the Baltimore County Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek Hines and Leo Wise, who prosecuted the case.