Baltimore Field Division
Photo used under Creative Commons from flickr user sneakerdog
Welcome to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division. Our Division is responsible for criminal enforcement and industry operations in the States of Maryland and Delaware. Our dedicated work force is comprised of special agents, industry operations investigators, intelligence research specialists, forensic auditors, technical operations officers and support staff. ATF is a unique law enforcement agency that protects our communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, the illegal use and trafficking of firearms, and explosives, acts of arson and bombings, and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products. We are strategic in our efforts to reduce violent crime and protect our public.
From neighborhood to nation
Baltimore Field Division’s top priority is to address and investigate violent crime. Special Agents combat firearms violence by focusing our investigative efforts on armed violent offenders, armed career criminals, illegal gun traffickers and violent criminal gangs. We are committed to protecting our neighborhoods and our nation from those who illegally commit the crime of arson, or use explosives in violent crime and related incidents. Baltimore’s Arson and Explosives Group brings together specialized assets and expertise in arson and explosives investigations. Our Special Agents participate in high–profile arson and explosive–related investigations that affect the quality of life of our citizens.
ATF’s Baltimore Field Division leads the law enforcement effort in Maryland EXILE. This program works to identify repeat violent offenders and career criminals who have been arrested for firearms–related offenses on the State level; specifically in Baltimore, Prince George’s, Frederick, and Wicomico counties. These cases are investigated and referred for prosecution in the Federal system where the minimum mandatory sentences are more severe, and there is no possibility of parole. Operation FED–UP (Federal Enforcement and Detention in Urban Policing) is an exile
type project led by the Special Agents in our Wilmington Field Office. Since the inception of both programs, hundreds of violent offenders have been "exiled" from the neighborhoods of both Maryland and Delaware.
ATF is the lead Federal law enforcement agency in the Violent Crime Impact Teams (VCIT) initiative, which uses strategic methods and analytical resources to target the most dangerous pockets of a city. Baltimore is one of only 31 cities throughout the nation who employ the VCIT strategy. Since 2004, Baltimore’s VCIT has arrested and worked to prosecute over 150 of the city’s most violent career offenders/gang members, yielding a combined sentencing total of over 55,000 months for the defendants.
In October 2010, the Baltimore Field Division launched a new Firearms Trafficking Team, a squad strategically focused on determining the source of illegal guns. We know that the best way to address the violence in and around the city is to identify the source of illegal firearms. By implementing a new intelligence component, we can more effectively learn how illegal guns are being obtained. We have partnered with over 16 state and local law enforcement agencies in Maryland to address the gun trafficking issue, by working significant trafficking investigations. Since its inception, our Firearms Trafficking Team has taken over a thousand illegal weapons off the streets.
In 2003, in response to crime statistics and violence among the growing gang community, ATF’s Baltimore Field Division established the Regional Area Gang Enforcement (RAGE) unit. RAGE is tasked to investigate, prosecute, and dismantle violent gangs throughout Maryland and the Washington DC Metropolitan region. Since its inception, RAGE has identified and investigated hundreds of members of various gangs in the Maryland/DC Metropolitan area, to include the La Mara Salvatrucha (MS–13) gang, the Latin Kings, and those belonging to the 18th Street gang. Several defendants have been charged under the RICO statute, a law which not only holds them responsible for their own actions, but those violent actions of the entire gang as well.
ATF is responsible for regulating the firearms and explosives industries. ATF protects our communities by preventing the illegal use and trafficking of firearms and explosives, and ensuring that all firearms and explosives are stored, handled and sold in a safe manner that is in accordance with Federal law. The Baltimore Field Division’s Industry Operations Investigators (IOIs) oversee the inspection of over 2,300 Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) and over 125 Explosives Licensees/Permittees within the states of Maryland and Delaware. Our top priority is to educate and ensure compliance amongst our firearms and explosives licensees, and to provide guidance and instruction in order to meet such compliance. Through education, compliance, and the imposition of penalties, our Industry Operation Investigators work to enforce firearms and explosives laws and regulations in order to keep our communities safe.
ATF also investigates crimes involving the illegal diversion of tobacco products within the United States, as well as the trafficking of contraband/counterfeit cigarettes and counterfeit tax stamps into the United States. To combat the growing problem of cigarette trafficking, the Baltimore Field Division has launched several proactive investigations throughout Maryland and Delaware.
ATF works in conjunction with our Federal, state and local partners to investigate and arrest the most violent offenders, and bring them to justice. This alliance supports our mission of reducing violent crime and protecting our public by removing these violent offenders from our neighborhoods. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to bring safety and security to our citizens – today and every day. It is our hope, and our expectation that our combined efforts will result in safer communities throughout Maryland and Delaware, and across this great nation.
As we continue the fight in the war against violent crime, ATF remains committed to keeping the public safe by putting violent criminals behind bars – one community at a time. With you and your families in mind, I proudly lead the Baltimore Field Division in fulfilling this mission. Thank you.
Debbie D. Bullock
Division Management Team
- Debbie D. Bullock
- Acting Special Agent In Charge (SAC)
- Steven Pugmire
- Assistant Special Agent In Charge (ASAC)
- Ashan Benedict
- Assistant Special Agent In Charge (ASAC)
- Gary Bangs
- Director of Industry Operations (DIO)
- David Cheplak
- Public Information Officer (PIO)
Division Contact Information
Receive Baltimore Press Release Updates
Baltimore Felon Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Possessing Ammunition
February 3, 2012
Baltimore, Maryland — U.S. District judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Isaac Lamont Edwards, age 27, of Baltimore, today to 15 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of ammunition. Judge Motz enhanced Edwards’ sentence upon finding that he is an armed career criminal based on three previous drug and violent crime convictions.More »
Washington D.C. Man Exiled to Over 10 Years in Prison on Gun and Drug Charges
February 2, 2012
Greenbelt, Maryland — U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Stephen Laroy Jones, age 33, of Washington, D.C., today to 130 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a gun and possession with intent to distribute marijuana and crack cocaine.More »
Federal Racketeering and Murder Conspiracy Charges Filed Against Alleged Members of a Baltimore Drug Gang
January 27, 2012
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury superseding indictment was unsealed today alleging that a drug gang operating on a stretch of Baltimore Street in Baltimore known as the Block,
is a federal racketeering enterprise that committed acts of violence, including murder. The following defendants, all from Baltimore, are charged in the indictment, which was returned on January 25, 2012 and unsealed today:More »
Baltimore Felon Exiled to Over 15 Years in Prison for Possessing a Gun
January 12, 2012
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg sentenced Matthew Craighead, age 28, of Baltimore, today to 188 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Judge Legg enhanced Craighead's sentence upon finding that he is an armed career criminal based on three previous drug and violent crime convictions.More »
Jason Scott Sentenced to 100 Years in Prison for Federal Home Invasion, Firearms and Child Pornography Production Charges
January 10, 2012
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Jason Thomas Scott, age 28, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, today to 100 years in prison on 11 federal felony charges relating to a series of crimes committed during more than 50 burglaries and nine armed home invasion robberies. The convictions include armed carjacking, production of child pornography, theft of firearms and related gun charges. Scott has been held in custody since 2009.More »
Baltimore Felon Exiled to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing a Gun
January 6, 2012
Baltimore, Maryland — U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg sentenced Darryl Carter, age 48, of Baltimore, today to 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a gun.More »
Bowie Man Exiled to 16 Years in Prison on Gun and Drug Charges
January 4, 2012
Greenbelt, Maryland — U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Tyrone Anthony Johnson, age 33, of Bowie, Maryland, today to 16 years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Judge Williams enhanced Johnson’s sentence upon finding that he is a career offender, based on two previous robbery convictions.More »