In Maryland, more than a dozen state correction guards have been accused of assisting a major national prison gang in trafficking drugs and laundering money from behind bars. In a sealed criminal indictment presented before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland this week, 13 female correction officers are being charged with federal racketeering charges.
According to prosecutors, the female guards — for the most part — turned over control of the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC) to the Black Guerilla Family (BGF). The BGF, also known as the Black Vanguard or the Black Family, is an African-American prison gang that was formed at San Quentin State Prison, Calif., and has grown to become a national counterweight to White supremacist prison gangs, such as the Aryan Brotherhood.
The BGF has associated itself with the Black Liberation Army, the Crips, the Symbionese Liberation Army and Weather Underground, and a BGF member, Tyrone Robinson, was responsible for the assassination of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton.
The BGF arrived in Baltimore during the 1990s. Since its inception, the BGF has been increasingly involved in narcotics trafficking, robbery, assaults and homicides. In 2006, the BGF became the dominant gang at BCDC.
The weight of the lack of supervision is grave. Four guards — Jennifer Owens, 31, of Randallstown; Katera Stevenson, 24, of Baltimore; Chania Brooks, 27, of Baltimore; and Tiffany Linder, 27, of Baltimore — have been impregnated by the same inmate — the leader of the BGF at BCDC, Tavon White — five times.
Two of these guards have tattoos of White’s first name on their bodies. The guards smuggled prescription pills, cell phones, clothing, shoes and hair products into the jail. These cell phones were used to coordinate criminal activities with family members outside the jail. Allegedly, one gang member used proceeds from all of this to buy luxury cars, including — according to the indictment — a 2012 Chevrolet, a 2002 BMW, two 2000 Mercedes Benzes and a 2002 Acura, all of which have been forfeited to the U.S. government.
Some of the guards were allowed to drive the vehicles.
Maryland’s Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services Gary Maynard resolutely took responsibility for this failure. “It’s totally on me. I don’t make any excuses,” said Maynard, who was appointed in 2007 to deal with a state prison system in crisis. “We will move up the chain of command, and people will be held accountable.” All 13 guards have been suspended without pay with the recommendation to fire.
“We have zero tolerance for corruption among correctional officers, and we will continue striving to make all correctional facilities as secure as they can possibly be,” Gov. Martin O’Malley said in regard to the issue. O’Malley, prior to this, was a potential candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, based on his record of “performance-driven” state management.
In a wiretapped call, White told an acquaintance, “This is my jail. You understand that? I’m dead serious. I make every final call in this jail.”
Along with the 13 guards, 12 members of the BGF have also been indicted, including White. One defendant was killed in a robbery just before the indictment was filed. The defendants face 20 years’ confinement for the racketeering charges.