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Travis “Sticks” Alewine, 30, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in connection with his membership in the “Hillside” gang, operating in the Cherry Hill neighborhood of Baltimore.
US Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek Barron said that the ”Hillside” gang “distributed powder and crack cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, and marijuana, and used the proceeds of their narcotics sales to purchase firearms, to enrich themselves, and to further the activities of the organization, including narcotics trafficking” in west and southwest Baltimore.
Hillside members operated stash houses in Cherry Hill to cut and package narcotics for distribution and committed acts of violence, including robberies, homicides, and non-fatal shootings, prosecutors added.
As part of his guilty plea, Alewine admitted that he and three other members of the gang shot and killed Anthony Cureton, who they mistakenly believed to be in a rival gang “Up Da Hill” and attempted to shoot another person nearby.
Barron said that Alewine possessed firearms, including a loaded .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a loaded .44-caliber revolver; and he possessed with intent to distribute narcotics, as well as participated in the preparation of narcotics for sale.
Under his plea agreement, Alewine and prosecutors agreed that he will be sentenced in November to between 180 to 253 months in prison.
“Travis Alewine and his fellow gang members have terrorized the Cherry Hill community for years,” Barron said.
“We will continue to work with our law enforcement and community partners to remove violent actors, like Alewine, from the street and make our communities safer.”
Alewine is among 20 others charged in the case who has pleaded guilty to their roles in the racketeering conspiracy. Eighteen have already been sentenced to terms of between 10 and 30 years in federal prison.
“The Hillside gang terrorized Cherry Hill for years,” ATF Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Toni Crosby stated. “The gang members pushed drugs into the community, threatened violence constantly, and even took the lives of others.”
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