Melvin Williams, whose life as a West Baltimore drug kingpin in the 1960s and post-prison redemption earned him a place in HBO's "The Wire," died Thursday at the University of Maryland Medical Center. During NYC visit, Gov. [10] Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Beautiful Struggle (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2008), 29-30. Thats how were playing it. United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the DEA Baltimore and Los Angeles Field Offices, Maryland Natural Resources Police, the Baltimore Police Department and the Baltimore States Attorneys Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Since the 1990s, the Baltimore ghetto has a number of old neighborhoods demolished, mainly the old housing projects of Lafayette Court in East Baltimore or the Murphy Homes in West Baltimore, along with numerous dilapidated rowhouses plaguing the inner city. King aggressively marketed heroin and, after adult dealers were imprisoned for longer terms, brought on juveniles to hawk on the streets. The investigation determined that between July 2022 and October 2022, members of the conspiracy from Texas served as couriers for the national drug organization. Turning cheap and plentiful cocaine into smokable rock was something nearly anyone kid could do. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has indicted six people, including drug kingpins, on multiple charges in connection to an interstate cocaine trafficking conspiracy. This myopia only leads to more carnage as the players change and the game goes on. The takedowns did not put a dent in Baltimores $900 million heroin market, an amount three times what city spent on its schools. The Official Blog of the Urban History Association. He was the man in more ways than one- trendsetter, drug dealer, high roller, ladies' man- these were only a few of the titles Peanut King carried. The truth is, there are many different kinds of drug [] [6], In the 1999 film Liberty Heights, the character Little Melvin portrayed by actor Orlando Jones is loosely based upon Williams in the early stages of his career. [4] Alfred Blumstein and Joel Wallman, The Recent Rise and Fall of American Violence in. Top defense Baltimore attorney allegedly in cahoots with marijuana kingpin. Investigators witnessed Kinney, Nauls, and Rhodes make regular trips from Houston to Baltimore where they would then offload large quantities of narcotics into a safehouse that was being maintained by the organization. Smith sent money for the payment of the drugs back to California in concealed compartments on the car carriers. Frank M. Reid III, the church's senior pastor. Stars: Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce Votes: 345,854 3. Authorities made a controlled delivery of the heroin in September. He spoke out against drug use and counseled young men to steer clear of the gang culture. The other side of The Wire was the streets as characters Marlo Stanfield and Avon Barksdale, Baltimore kingpins, displayed the terror and reign of the drug trade in the streets of the West Baltimore ghetto. The Strong as Steel gang ran a business of 30-40 employees based in a dilapidated area in the northwest part of the city. Self-identified members of the Crips and Bloods denied any such unification in interviews with Newsweek and other media outlets. Smith directed others in acquiring, transporting and delivering the cocaine, and in laundering the proceeds from the cocaine sales. [4] It is directed by Bruce Brown, and Drew Berry is the writer and producer. A locked padlock BALTIMORE (AP) -- A Baltimore drug kingpin has pleaded guilty to laundering heroin proceeds and tax fraud. Smith, who received over seven kilograms of the cocaine and maintained a local Baltimore County safehouse, has been charged with Conspiracy, Supervising a Criminal Organization, Drug Kingpin, Volume Dealer, Possession of a Machine Gun for an Aggressive Purpose, Possession of an Assault Weapon, Use of Firearms in a Drug Trafficking Crime, and related charges. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. This map breaks down the location of the old housing projects that were demolished in the late 1990s, like the Lafayette Projects and Flag House, both of the East Side, and the Murphy Homes and Lexington Terrace of West Side, as well many of the blocks and areas that were showed on the hit TV series The Wire. Barksdale was raised in the Lexington Terrace projects in Baltimore. Editorial Credit: Nicole Glass Photography / Shutterstock.com. / CBS Baltimore. BALTIMORE - Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced the indictments of six defendants for their participation in an interstate cocaine trafficking conspiracy that resulted in. The Team At Daily Voice Wants. Unlike the initial peaceful protests following Gray's death, Monday's demonstration turned into a riot. The meaning of KINGPIN is the chief person in a group or undertaking. Drug czar William Bennett coined the wars motto: Last years hopeless cause is this years revived opportunity for victory.[20]. As mentioned, many were first introduced to the Baltimore hoods and streets through David Simons The Wire. Viewers were able to witness a fictional and fabrication of what life was like growing up in the streets and urban community of Baltimore, from policing, to politics, to lifestyles, to a look inside the dealings of Baltimore kingpins. "We became acquainted and we talked of his life. Though many factors converged to produce high homicide rates, observers frequently overlook the law enforcement strategy of destabilizing drug trafficking organizations. Dante Barksdale, 46, who worked as an outreach coordinator for the . Mr. Williams told Mr. Cardin he would not return to his former ways. Khalid, Risky Business: Major Drug Dealers Are Getting Younger, Baltimore Sun, October 27 1991, 1G. [2] Vernon Guidry, Jr. Baltimore is Among Best in Using Drug Kingpin Law, Baltimore Sun, February 16 1983, A1; Ann LoLordo, City Narcotics Squad Seeks Containment Baltimore Sun, September 18 1983, 1; Baltimore Afro-American, Drug Agents Claim Victories in Ongoing War Against Drugs, January 10, 1987, 3. The sentence was announced by Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; Baltimore City States Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Colonel George F. Johnson IV, Superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resources Police. Petty disagreements escalated into bloodshed as Baltimoreans became more and more convinced they needed guns. U.S. requests extradition of drug kingpin's son, Mexico says Ovidio Guzman has allegedly helped to run his father's infamous Sinaloa cartel since El Chapo was handed over to the U.S. in 2017. In the newspaper series, which focuses on the criminal career of Melvin Williams, Simon depicts Barksdale as a ruthless killer and a drug addict. The Baltimore Sun suggested that the police department engage in a turf battle that will pit the police and law-abiding citizens on one side and the criminal element on the other. Reporter David Simon thought that securing corners could restore police credibility and allow communities to function (Simon went on to create the HBO series The Wire). "As a teen I had heard about him and one day, years later, I mentioned from the pulpit there were people selling drugs on Etting Street. Domestic Cannabis Suppression / Eradication Program, Red Ribbon Toolkit - Resources For Your Community, DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Intelligence Research Specialist Job Announcements, Schedule A Hiring Authority: Intelligence Research Specialist, Privacy Impact Assessment and Management Information Systems, Victim Witness Assistance Program Resources. Garnett Smith was one of the largest cocaine and heroin dealers to be arrested by the DEA in recent history, stated Gary Tuggle, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office. Addressing firearms without admitting that the lawless narcotics business caused gunplay was futile. Drug arrests continued to make commerce more anarchic. Melvin Williams, whose life as a West Baltimore drug kingpin in the 1960s and post-prison redemption earned him a place in HBO's "The Wire," died Thursday at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Laid off two and a half years earlier from Bethlehem Steel where he earned $24.60 an hour, he turned to delivering $10 heroin packets, living off his cut. "They shared some very funny moments. The West Baltimore hoods include places like SandTown, Edmondson Avenue, Walbrook JCT, Whitelock City, McCulloh Homes, Poe Homes, Poplar Grove, Fayette Street, North and Pulaski, Edmondson Village, and much more. Schmoke was a drug war critic, but as mayor he instituted Drug Free Zones and Community Policing. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment More posts you may like . After Peanut Kings territory in East Baltimore opened it descended into competitive chaos, while West Baltimore remained relatively placid under the thumb of structured operations. All rights reserved. Smith was responsible for the distribution of more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine during a period of less than two years. Lochearn, Barely out of his teens, he built himself a reputation as one of the wealthiest drug lords to come out of New York and the youngest to be charged with the kingpin statute. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Monday's demonstration turned into a riot, it received a "credible threat" that they had unified and aimed to harm law enforcement, denied any such unification in interviews with, Photos: After Violent Riots, a Calmer Night in Baltimore, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion, Freddie Gray's Death and the Law Cops Hide Behind, 10 Arrested As Baltimore Riot Cops Confront Curfew Breakers With Tear Gas. "Disputes between rival drug gangs lead to many shootings and murders in Baltimore City," said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur. From Melvin Williams's own perspective, he didn't want to be . Pikesville, Holding court in East Baltimore's gritty neighborhoods and holding fast to his thuglife ideals of "get mine or be mine." The most feared drug dealer and gangster in Charm City, AJ allegedly ordered murders from his prison cell. "The citizens complained, and the citizens bring information to us, and the citizens cry out about open air drug markets . Dubbed "one of the most notorious and resilient gangster drug kingpins Baltimore has ever seen," Barksdale rose to infamy in the 1980s selling heroin out of the city's Murphy Homes public housing complex. As the black population grew, African Americans began to reside in neighborhoods of West Baltimore, mostly between North Avenue and Edmondson. His father drove a cab; his mother was a nurse's aide. Deb Belt , Patch Staff Posted Thu, Jan 26, 2023 at 6:40 pm ET [3], Barksdale's name appeared in the Baltimore Sun's 1987 series Easy Money: Anatomy of a Drug Empire,[3] written by David Simon, who went on to be the creator, executive producer, and head writer of The Wire. Baltimore Drug Kingpin Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison Distributed Over a Ton of Cocaine in Baltimore in Less Than Two Years; Authorities Seized Over $6.7 Million in Luxury Cars and Motorcycles, Jewelry, Cash and Bank Accounts, Clothing and Real Estate On Wednesday, Feb. 15, the AG's Office announced charges for six suspects who were involved in the drug conspiracy that led to the seizure of nearly $500,000 worth of narcotics in Maryland. One of the oldest black populations in the country has been in the city of Baltimore since the 1800s, and has been constantly growing year by year ever since. 2023 Southern Maryland News & Entertainment. Snyde One Baltimore drug dealer named Richard Byrd claims that he did business with top musicians such as Drake, Kanye West, and Diddy to launder money. Among the most sophisticated was Maurice Peanut King. An official website of the United States government. The drug kingpin spent . Milford Mill, These groups operate much of the heroin, cocaine and marijuana trade in Baltimore. He had been through it all because he had grown up on the streets," he said. Within a few years of his arrival in South Jamaica, Fat Cat established a drug empire that at one time netted $20 million a year, according to Vanity Fair, selling heroin and cocaine that Nichols. In the United States as well as Central and South America, policymakers have directed agents to decapitate the kingpins of narcotics businesses through arrests. There really was a Nathan Bodie Barksdale. Today, one of Baltimore's best known criminals is serving life plus 130 years in prison. A criminal indictment is merely an accusation of wrongdoing, and a defendant is presumed innocent until the State proves the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 2014 - 2022 Obituare. ", He said they came away from the meeting and offered Mr. Williams the role of the deacon on "The Wire.". "He had a civic pride and was concerned about people getting hurt.". This is not just your blanket kind of street sweep where you get a lot of low-level guys, Schmoke claimed. How did Baltimore earn the unfortunate nickname Bulletmore? Change). - https://tony2times.bigcartel.com I'm a Videographer, Photographer, and Reporter located in Atlanta, but I was born and raised in Baltimore. [1] He served time at a Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina. Williams told his friends that he was suffering from cancer, The Baltimore Sun reported. The investigation, which was led by the Drug Enforcement Administrations High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Group 51 with assistance from the Attorney Generals Organized Crime Unit, revealed that at least as early as July 2022 through October 2022, Latrava Kinney, 39; Lawrence Nauls, 45;and Jayson Rhodes, 49, of Houston, Texas were serving as narcotics and money couriers for a national drug traffickingorganization, working in tandem to traffic multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from Texas to Baltimore County, Maryland. "It was very stressful. "My people were waiting to see what if anything the politicians were going to do to hold the policemen who killed Freddie Gray responsible. Will Cooley is the author of Moving Up, Moving Out: The Rise of the Black Middle Class in Chicago (DeKalb, IL Northern Illinois Press, 2018). He took a job earning $4.25 an hour at an Inner Harbor hotel with dreams to Be like Donald Trump.[7], The treacherous stakes weeded out many youths, but there was always someone ready to step up. [3] When he was young, a man ran over Barksdale's leg with his truck after Barksdale stole from him. [2]Legends of the Unwired consists of dramatizations of alleged events in Barksdale's criminal career, interviews with his family and friends, and interviews of Barksdale by actor Wood Harris, who plays drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on The Wire. He was in the early stages of writing his autobiography at the time of his death. BALTIMORE (AP) _ Four men have been accused of civil rights violations in the Labor Day slaying of a federal witness whose grand jury testimony led to charges against one of the men, according to the FBI and city police. Im grateful for the hard work of the DEA teams, Maryland Attorney Generals Office, and our law enforcement partners, with whom we were able to execute these arrests and seize illegal drugs and firearms from this violent drug trafficking organization.. "I'm sure that they would do even more good deeds if society was set up for all people to do good naturally. An African-American, Gray died from a spinal cord injury after he was arrested; the circumstances of his death are being investigated by authorities. Authorities also seized two Can Am Spyder three wheeled motorcycles and 15 vehicles purchased by Smith, including a 2010 Aston Martin, a 2009 Lamborghini Murcielago, a 2008 Maybach and a Mercedes-Benz CL550, along with real estate and bank accounts worth over a million dollars. [17] The busts turned organized crime into disorganized crime. Its different than what Ive seen in the past. Search warrants were executed at Smiths residences in Maryland and Studio City, California. According to the AG, Smith, and Stokes, who were described as local distributors, would pick up the drugs and transport them to separate locations to be broken down for street-level distribution around the county. 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Required fields are marked *. Learn how your comment data is processed. Let me know what yawl think about this story. [9] S.M. There is no honor. "He became the symbol of crime problems in the city, whether he wanted to or not," former Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said. "Sometime in my fifties I became aware that there was a God in charge, and not a Melvin," he said. Police say Blackwell set off a year of violence in Baltimore that culminated in a 2009 barbecue shootout that injured a dozen people. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Investigators from the DEAs High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Unit executed warrants on multiple stash locations and vehicles in Maryland that led to the seizure of: The flow of narcotics and firearms into our communities must stop, Brown said. In late August, Smith and Johnson sent a car to Maryland on a different car carrier. DAYTON A drug trafficking kingpin who delivered large quantities of cocaine here from California, marijuana from Texas and heroin from Washington, D.C., will spend the rest of . This post is a part of my summer series on Baltimore drug kingpins, but it's also a part of a larger series about the different types of power. Narcotics Section. Fans of "The Wire" have long speculated that Mr. Williams was the inspiration for the drug dealer character Avon Barksdale. [11] In a tumultuous environment, a weapon gave residents a feeling of control, especially for young men. Anthony ran East Baltimore with a iron fist in the 90's but as all s. [11] Baltimore Sun, Community Groups Gather to Plot War on Crime, February 24, 1991, 3B. He came with me to Chester, Pa., and Atlanta to help people get out of gangs. In present day Baltimore, the process of gentrification as numerous blocks in the city center, or inner city, have been left to rot and deteriorate seemingly to be a way to push many residents out of East Baltimore and West Baltimore into Baltimore County or certain sections of the city that are a further distance to downtown, like the Northeast or Park Heights. His legal team has defended drug kingpins before The lead lawyer, A. Eduardo Balarezo (LEFT), is a cartel specialist who once represented Alfredo Beltrn-Leyva, one of Guzman's closest allies.. Tommy Lee Canty became a boss in his early twenties, an age when dealers in the past would become lieutenants. In making todays announcement, Attorney General Brown thanked Organized Crime Chief Katie Dorian, Assistant Attorney General Megan Greene, Assistant Attorney General Nancy Frigo, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Baltimore County Police Department, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore County Sheriffs Office, Anne Arundel County Police, Howard County Police, the Laurel Police Department, and the Annapolis Police Department. Prosecutors say Blackwell, 27,had led a drug operation in Maryland, New York and the Dominican Republic since 2003. [3] In February 2016, he died from an undisclosed illness at a medical prison in Butner, North Carolina, aged 54. Friends said Mr. Williams, 73, told them he had cancer. [19] Thomas Frazier, A Message to Citizens from the Baltimore Police Department, n.d. but c. February 1997, box 14, Kurt Schmoke Papers, Baltimore City Archives. (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. Mr. Williams explained his epiphany to U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis during a court appearance in 2003. Most recently, Mr. Williams operated an indoor flea market on West North Avenue near Smallwood Street. Ovidio Guzman has allegedly helped to run his father's infamous Sinaloa cartel since El Chapo was handed over to the U.S. in 2017. To make matters worse, in the mid-1980s New York City dealers flooded into Baltimore with deeply discounted products in what felt like an invasion. The streets of East Baltimore are mostly the Latrobe Homes, Perkins Homes, Patterson Park, Highland Town, Barclay, and numerous other blocks. October 10, 1985. In November, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds gave Brown additional. Baltimore drug boss Maurice "Peanut" King Maurice "Peanut" King was in July 1981 shot in the foot Otis "Mike" Smith was in prison when his brother Howard Smith was shot and killed and Otis Smith became a witness against Maurice "peanut" King Baltimore drug boss Maurice "Peanut" King Thomas "Joe Dancer" Ricks was 1 April 1982 arrested for murder He also brought in lawyers to talk about the criminal justice system and procedures, Dr. The city of Baltimore has been in the light for the past decades, due to the success from the hit HBO series The Wire. A city of both high crime and high poverty rates, together with the publicizing of police brutality and local political corruption, the streets of the Baltimore ghetto have become well known over the years. [1], During the early 1980s, law enforcement waged an energetic, expensive effort to pursue these chiefs. BALTIMORE Lawyers pushed back in the money laundering case against prominent defense attorney Ken Ravenell Wednesday, telling jurors to ask "where is the cash?" It comes as the government's key. And the kids who are out there today selling drugs are just killing one another. Running a heroin operation was akin to managing a department store, but crack spots were more like pop-up shops. However, Nathan Barksdale claimed that Bates was a close friend of his. After his release he began working as a community activist to help reform the lives of underprivileged minorities and youth. Stokes, as well as Maurice Farmer, 47, of Baltimore, have been charged with Participation in a Criminal Organization, Volume Dealer, Possession with the Intent to Distribute, and related charges. Johnson retrieved the vehicle from the car carrier and delivered it to Smith in Baltimore. Theyre not based on real people, individually, but a character might be a composite". Schmoke donned a bulletproof vest with community volunteers in a symbolic occupation of drug corners, urging citizens to work with the police. Videos. Leaf said. Including the cash seizure in Arkansas, approximately $6.7 million dollars in assets have been seized from Smith. The police have named three groups as primary aggressors: the Crips, the Bloods and the Black Guerrilla Family. He headed the DEA office here before leaving in 2015 to run the agency's Philadelphia office. cleveland cavaliers ownership percentages, ufcw local 5 pay union dues, November, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds gave Brown additional about this story based on real people, individually but! Inner Harbor hotel with dreams to be like Donald Trump schmoke was a close friend his... Baltimore ( AP ) -- a Baltimore drug kingpin has pleaded guilty to heroin! Akin to managing a department store, but a character might be a composite '' nearly anyone kid could.... 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