In The News

According to investigators, defendant Terrell Pryor was selling bulk quantities of cocaine to other defendants for resale, and this discovery led investigators to a second open-air drug market that was also operating in the city. Read more.

State's Attorney Ivan Bates, local law enforcement announces takedown of drug trafficking organization (VIDEO). Watch here.

Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan J. Bates unveiled his office's third legislative agenda at the Maryland General Assembly's Opening Day. Bates, now also the president of the Maryland State's Attorneys' Association (MSAA), is advocating for the Court Commissioners | False Statements bill with a focus on fairness and accountability in the criminal justice system. The proposed bill is a response to the arrest of rapper T.I. in 2023 from a warrant issued in Baltimore based on a court commissioner’s acceptance of a statement of facts from an individual, without any evidence or consultation with law enforcement or prosecutors. Read more.

His first three years in office have been largely defined by the remarkable decrease in gun violence in the city. It’s a stark reversal of predecessor Marilyn Mosby’s eight years in office, when Baltimore recorded more than 300 killings each year. Read more.

“The harm caused by former Officer Curlon Edwards was profound, and no one—especially someone entrusted with authority—has the right to abuse their position and violate another person,” Bates said. “We hope this outcome affirms the survivor’s courage in coming forward and reinforces that our office will stand with victims, pursue accountability, and work to ensure their voices are heard.” Read more.

State's Attorney Ivan Bates talks about rebuilding State's Attorney's Office, combating crime (VIDEO). Watch here.

We came in with 140 prosecutors. We now have 200. We’d love to get more money from the city to have even more, and to get raises for the prosecutors here now, because they’re a golden commodity and they’re going to be offered jobs. So, the first thing is to continue to stabilize the office. Read more.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates taking office in 2023 coincided with the beginning of the crime decline, and his crackdown on illegal guns became the cornerstone of his work. Read more.

The data challenges have led to disputes over whether youth crime is actually decreasing. After another nonprofit, The Sentencing Project, released a 2024 report showing drops in youth arrests, Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates criticized the organization in an op-ed saying that the report did “not accurately represent my office’s data or the experiences of Baltimore City’s residents.” Read more.

It’s unclear how many of those children were being held in the custody of the state Department of Juvenile Services while their cases were stalled. But the figure Taylor cited represents about 12% of juvenile cases in Baltimore this year, according to the Office of Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates. “It’s one of our biggest problems here, just getting cases to trial,” Pamela Chung, chief of Bates’ Juvenile Division, said in an interview. Read more.