A federal grand jury recently indicted six Baltimore men on violent racketeering enterprise charges as members of the Black Guerilla Family.
Indictment against the six was returned Dec. 15, 2022, and unsealed four days later, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
"The U.S. Attorney's Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to stop gang violence, like that alleged in this indictment," U.S. Attorney for Maryland Erek L. Barron said in the news release. "Gangs will not be allowed to hold communities hostage through violence and intimidation."
The indicted are 30-year-old David "Meshawn" and "LA Meshawn" Warren, 33-year-old Barak Olds, 28-year-old Davante “YGG Tay” and “Lor Bip Bip” Harrison, 23-year-old Wayne "Taz" Prince, 35-year-old Joshua "Josh" Duffy and 37-year-old Tyrell "Whitebread" Jeffries, all of Baltimore, the release reported. The six were indicted on federal racketeering conspiracy charges that included murder, murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, armed robbery and witness tampering.
Duffy and Jeffries were arrested Dec. 19, 2022, ahead of an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore later the same afternoon, according to the news release. Initial appearances for the remaining defendants, all of whom already were in custody, was expected at a later date.
The indictment was jointly announced by Barron; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Baltimore Field Division Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby; FBI-Baltimore Field Office Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and Interim Chief Dennis J. Delp, the release reported.
The six, whose affiliation with the BGF gang or "Jamaa" began in 2014 and they "participated in the BGF criminal enterprise," the news release said, citing the indictment. BGF, which operates nationwide, including in prisons, was founded in California and arrived in Maryland's correctional system in the 1990s.
"Although still a prison gang, BGF is involved in criminal activity, including murder, murder-for-hire, robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice and witness intimidation throughout Baltimore, in Maryland and elsewhere," the news release said. "BGF members in Baltimore are organized into 'regimes' corresponding to particular regions or neighborhoods. Each 'regime' is organized and controlled by a hierarchy called 'the bubble.'"
