Baltimore, Md. (March 14, 2024) – Today, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office Major Investigations Unit, Mayor Brandon M. Scott, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), and the Baltimore Police Department’s Group Violence Unit (GVU) announced the indictments of 12 members of an alleged Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) that was operating out of the 200 block of Collins Avenue and the 4100 block of Frederick Avenue. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial. 

“Partnership and collaboration are again proving the best combination at reducing violence and ensuring accountability for the residents of Baltimore,” said Deputy State’s Attorney Thomas M. Donnelly. “When the Office of the State’s Attorney, BPD, MONSE, and our other law enforcement partners in the region work in tandem to dismantle open-air drug markets, it has a positive ripple effect on the entire neighborhood. Residents feel safer, street violence diminishes, and neighborhoods are economically revived when we are able to remove trigger-pullers and drug traffickers from the community and hold them accountable for their reckless actions.”

In November of 2023, a four-month-long investigation conducted by the State’s Attorney’s Office and BPD culminated in executing 10 search warrants on a DTO operating in the Irvington neighborhood as part of Baltimore’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy in BPD’s Southwestern Police District. Ten members were apprehended, and detectives recovered nine firearms, 38 grams of suspected fentanyl mixture, 6.5 pounds of marijuana, 256 grams of suspected heroin, and approximately 69 grams of suspected cocaine. 

“GVRS’s core mission is to provide a choice to those responsible for driving violence in our city and inflicting harm upon our communities — take a pathway out of the life with our help or ultimately be removed from our streets and held accountable to the full extent of the law,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “We always want them to take the first option, but when we’ve exhausted efforts to make that happen, they must be held accountable. I want to thank the State’s Attorney’s Office’s Major Investigations Unit and BPD’s Group Violence Unit for their diligence in holding these group members accountable. Together, we are sending a unified message that those who violate our anti-violence mandate and continue to be involved in group violence will be held accountable.”

While executing the search warrants, BPD’s SWAT, DAT, and K-9 units worked in partnership with Maryland State Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore County, FBI, ATF, Anne Arundel County, Howard County, and Harford County law enforcement officials. The searches were conducted on the following locations:

• 4100 block of Woodbridge Road
• 4300 block of Eldone Road
• 4300 block of Garrison Blvd
• 600 block of Brisbane Road
• 4500 block of Manorview Road
• 4700 block of Amberly Avenue
• 1600 block of Bluffdale Road (Baltimore County)
• 200 block of Collins Avenue
• 2500 block of Gatehouse Drive
• 500 block of Parksley Avenue

“This latest operation illustrates that GVRS is working and shows what we can accomplish when we collaborate,” said Police Commissioner Richard Worley. “As the drug overdose epidemic rages on in our neighborhoods, we must use every resource and strategy available to dismantle the drug trafficking organizations and put them out of business. Thanks to the tireless efforts of BPD’s GVU/Anti-Crime Unit, the State’s Attorney’s Office, The Mayor’s Office, MONSE, and our many federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we were able to do that in this case. We must all continue to work together to reduce crime in our city and improve the quality of life for all.”

Electronic surveillance and undercover officers were used during the course of the investigation to gather evidence on the DTO. Based on the information they gathered, detectives believe defendants Joseph Barnes and Chris Tomlin are the alleged leaders of the organization. 

“GVRS is effective because of the focus on the right individuals and the delivery of swift and certain consequences for involvement in group violence,” said MONSE Director Stefanie Mavronis. “We are never going to apply enforcement measures simply because individuals decline services. What we will do is hold them accountable for violating the mandate to put their guns away and step away from the life.”