The charges came following a four-month investigation by the State’s Attorney’s Office and BPD resulting in 10 search warrants on a trafficking organization operating out of 200 block of Collins Avenue and the 4100 block of Frederick Avenue.
Ten members were apprehended, and detectives recovered nine firearms, 38 grams of suspected fentanyl mixture, 6.5 pounds of marijuana, 256 grams of suspected heroin, and approximately 69 grams of suspected cocaine, authorities said. Two of the 12 suspects remain at large; Kevin William, 35, and an unnamed teen are wanted by police.
The searches were also conducted at the following locations:
- 4100 block of Woodbridge Road
- 4300 block of Eldone Road
- 4300 block of Garrison Blvd
- 600 block of Brisbane Road
- 4500 block of Manorview Road
- 4700 block of Amberly Avenue
- 1600 block of Bluffdale Road (Baltimore County)
- 200 block of Collins Avenue
- 2500 block of Gatehouse Drive
- 500 block of Parksley Avenue
The warrants were carried out with help from BPD’s SWAT, DAT, and K-9 units in partnership with Maryland State Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore County, FBI, ATF, Anne Arundel County, Howard County, and Harford County law enforcement officials.
Investigators believe Joseph Barnes and Chris Tomlin to be the leaders of the organization.
“Partnership and collaboration are again proving the best combination at reducing violence and ensuring accountability for the residents of Baltimore,” said Deputy State’s Attorney Thomas M. Donnelly. “When the Office of the State’s Attorney, BPD, MONSE, and our other law enforcement partners in the region work in tandem to dismantle open-air drug markets, it has a positive ripple effect on the entire neighborhood. Residents feel safer, street violence diminishes, and neighborhoods are economically revived when we are able to remove trigger-pullers and drug traffickers from the community and hold them accountable for their reckless actions.”
The defendants face a combined 800 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
The investigation was led by the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office Major Investigations Unit, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, and the Baltimore Police Department’s Group Violence Unit.
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