On Monday, police discovered more than 100 members of the gang meeting in Druid Hill Park. Unrelated to this week's indictment, Black Guerrilla Family members are on trial in Circuit Court in connection with two separate murder cases, and on Thursday a member was arrested, accused of threatening to kill a witness in the death of former City Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr.
Ava A. Cooper-Davis, the special agent in charge of the DEA's Washington division, said the Black Guerrilla Family case started with information from one person with gang ties.
The indictment spells out how the gang, established in California's San Quentin prison in the 1960s, operates in Maryland. Its leadership consists of inmates, who lose their ranking status after being released. Members tend to be older than other gangs - one of the key figures charged, "Uncle Ray" Olivis, is 56.
Gang associates established a publishing company and have been selling a handbook written by the gang's leader in Maryland, Eric Brown, 40, court documents allege. Titled "Empower Black Families," authorities say the handbook is designed to help new members learn about the gang. It costs $15 for inmates and $20 for noninmates.
Corrections Officers Asia Burrus, Musheerah Habeebullah, Takevia Smith and Terry Robe played a key role in facilitating the gang's illegal activities, documents say. New inmates who are not affiliated with the gang are required to pay money through prepaid credit cards referred to as "Green Dot" cards. The cards are often held by corrections officers assisting the gang or by members on the street. Those who refused to pay for the "protection" were targeted for violence.
At one point in the recorded conversations, according to the documents, Smith, who is alleged to have had sex with inmates for money, says she is not worried about losing her job. "I got the [corrections officers'] union behind me," she said.
Also among those charged was Tomeka Harris, 33, who operated a Northeast Baltimore nightspot that was recently padlocked by city police after several incidents of violence occurred outside. Harris testified at a hearing that Club 410 hosted holiday toy drives and events that promoted safe sex.
But the indictment alleges that the club was a Black Guerrilla Family hangout and that Harris was a close associate of Brown and a key Black Guerrilla Family member named Rainbow Williams, 30, helping to facilitate "Green Dot" transactions and relaying information among gang members.
