Law enforcement officials yesterday arrested nine people - including at least one police say is part of the city's "dirty dozen," Baltimore's most elusive violent repeat offenders - after 18 federal raids that netted heroin, automatic weapons and bags of cash.
It was the second major takedown in two days. On Wednesday, officers raided a West Baltimore home and seized roughly seven kilos of heroin, $200,000 in cash and automatic weapons in a separate case. Four were arrested in that investigation; a fifth suspect, Mark "Doughboy" Owens, who police also count among the "dirty dozen," is still at large.
Eight of the defendants - four from each investigation - made initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Baltimore yesterday, each charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin, among other crimes. The rest will likely appear within the next two weeks.
The separate investigations came as part of the city's EXILE program, a partnership among state, local and federal officials that looks to ensure federal jail time for those arrested with guns and to build cases against violent repeat offenders through surveillance, wiretaps and confidential informants.
"The VRO program, or what we sometime call the 'dirty dozen' [though the list has far exceeded 12 people] is the proactive component of [EXILE]," said Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, who was speaking generally about the program, and not directly about these investigations.
"These are some of the most violent individuals in Baltimore, some of the most dangerous ... people who are not getting arrested, or who are arrested but not getting convicted," Rosenstein said.
Wiretaps, which Rosenstein said are the best way to go after high-level offenders, were used in the investigation that led to Wednesday's West Baltimore raid on the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Ave., according to law enforcement officials.
Four people - Sharrod "Rod" Harris, Jarmaul "Deadeye" Edwards, Tiffany "Baby Girl" Edwards and Raymond Stern - were arrested in connection with that raid. They appeared in court yesterday afternoon. Each was led into the courtroom wearing handcuffs and immediately began to consult with attorneys. A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday to determine whether they will be confined while awaiting trial.
The four arrested, and Owens, are accused of being involved for at least three years with a drug organization known as "Ray Charles" responsible for distributing "large quantities of heroin and high-grade marijuana in the Baltimore City area," according to an affidavit.
