DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Maryland

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Robert K. Hur
, United States Attorney
Contact: Marcia Murphy

Four Members of the Violent "Murdaland Mafia Piru" Bloods Gang Convicted of Federal Racketeering and Drug Conspiracies and Related Charges After Six-Week Trial

Gang Leader Dante Baily Faces Mandatory Life Sentence in Federal Prison; Fifth Defendant Convicted of Drug Conspiracy; Defendants Committed Gun Violence in Northwest Baltimore City and Baltimore County; Including Assault Rifle

Baltimore, Maryland – Late on April 30, 2019, a federal jury convicted the following four defendants for racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracies, as well as firearms and other related charges connected to their participation in the gang activities of Murdaland Mafia Piru (MMP), a subset of the Bloods gang:

 

            Dante Bailey, a/k/a “Gutta,” “Almighty,” and “Wolf,” age 40, of Windsor Mill, Maryland;

            Jamal Lockley, a/k/a “T-Roy” and “Droid,” age 40, of Baltimore;

            Corloyd Anderson, a/k/a “Bo,” age 36, of Owings Mills, Maryland; and

            Shakeen Davis, a/k/a “Creams,” age 24, of Baltimore.

 

The jury convicted co-defendant Randy Banks, a/k/a “Dirt,” age 41, of Baltimore, of the drug trafficking conspiracy.  He was found not guilty of the racketeering conspiracy.

           

The guilty verdicts were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

 

“These gang members brought terror and death to Baltimore and Baltimore County neighborhoods with guns and drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Now they face up to life in federal prison, where there are no suspended sentences and no parole—ever.  I urge anyone who’s thinking of following these defendants’ example:  Please, put down the guns and save a life—maybe even your own.”

 

“The gun violence resulting from these gang turf wars and rivalries is tearing this city apart,” said ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada. “We remain committed in our mission to identify, investigate, and incarcerate anyone using firearms to commit these violent crimes.”

 

According to the evidence presented at the six-week trial, MMP, also known as the “Mob” or “Mobsters,” is a violent subset of the Bloods gang that operates in Maryland and elsewhere.  MMP was modeled after the Italian Mafia, and was organized hierarchically, with Dante Bailey as “the Don” at the top and various “Bosses,” “Underbosses,” “Capos,” “Lieutenants,” and “Mobsters” underneath.  For many years, MMP controlled the drug trade in large swaths of Northwest Baltimore City and neighboring Baltimore County.  The gang’s drug shop in the 5200 block of Windsor Mill Road was particularly lucrative due to its close proximity to Interstate 70, and it frequently attracted drug customers driving from Western Maryland and neighboring states.  MMP’s members enriched themselves through drug trafficking and other criminal activities, and used violence and threats of violence to intimidate or retaliate against witnesses, protect the gang’s territories, enforce debts, and eliminate rivals.

 

According to trial testimony, one of the founding principles of the gang was a rule against cooperation with law enforcement.  Violations of this rule were punishable by death.  MMP members enhanced their status within the gang by carrying out acts of violence against rivals.  For instance, members could earn a lightning bolt tattoo for “killing for the Mob.”  Several MMP members, including Dante Bailey, have lightning bolt tattoos on their faces or bodies.  MMP members used social media websites to assert the gang’s claim to particular drug territories, intimidate rival gangs and drug traffickers, enhance MMP’s status, and enhance members’ status within the gang.  MMP members and associates posted photographs and rap videos to these social media websites in which they flaunted firearms and threatened to kill those who stood in the way of the gang. The evidence proved that members and associates of MMP participated in the gang’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activities, including murder, extortion, witness tampering and retaliation, and drug distribution. 

 

For example, on February 12, 2015, Dante Bailey murdered James Edwards for showing disloyalty to the gang.  Bailey shot Edwards to death in the 300 block of Collins Avenue, using the same gun he had used to shoot at rivals in the 5200 block of Windsor Mill Road three nights earlier.  On May 30, 2015, Shakeen Davis attempted to murder two rivals in the 5200 block of Windsor Mill Road, firing multiple rounds at them with an assault rifle in broad daylight at a busy intersection.  In September 2017, while in pretrial custody, the gang’s leader, Dante Bailey, caused a letter to be mailed to a co-conspirator that directed the murder of a co-defendant who was cooperating with law enforcement.  ATF Special Agents recovered the hit letter from the co-conspirator’s residence, as well as a recently purchased firearm.   

 

The evidence proved that Randy Banks was part of the drug conspiracy, which began in at least 2011 and distributed narcotics, including heroin, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine. 

 

Bailey faces a mandatory life sentence for murder in aid of racketeering.  Lockley, Anderson, and Davis each face a maximum of life in prison for the racketeering and drug conspiracies.  Lockley faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison for the drug conspiracy.  Anderson faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison for possession of a firearm by a felon.  Davis faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for the drug conspiracy.  Banks faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the drug conspiracy.  U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has not yet scheduled sentencing for the defendants.

 

Twenty co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracies.  The final defendant, Sydni Frazier, was part of this trial, but had a mistrial declared after his attorney could not continue due to health reasons.  His new trial date has not yet been scheduled.  He is the final defendant of the 26 indicted in the case.

 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

 

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the ATF, the Baltimore City and Baltimore County Police Departments, and the Baltimore City and Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Offices for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Christina Hoffman and Lauren E. Perry, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

 

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Baltimore Field Division