Two Members of Violent Baltimore Drug Gang “Special” Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Terms
Brothers Admit to Killing James Wise, Who Robbed Drug Shop

BALTIMORE, MD—U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Tamall Parker, age 23, and Tracy Love, age 25, both of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 13.5 years and eight years in prison, respectively, each followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime resulting in death, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to their guilty pleas, Parker and Love were members of a drug distribution organization known as “Special” that sold heroin, cocaine and marijuana on the streets of Baltimore. Parker and Love distributed narcotics to customers, collected drug proceeds, re-supplied and guarded the street inventory, operated as lookouts, and banded together against threats from drug traffickers from other neighborhoods. The defendants used locations in Baltimore City to package and store the drugs, including residences on Cokesbury Avenue, Bartlett Avenue, Loch Raven Road, Greenmount Avenue and Homewood Avenue. The organization was also responsible for a series of violent acts committed between October 2004 and November 2006 in furtherance of its operation, including a shooting and murders committed to silence witnesses and to help protect the reputation and dominant position of the organization.

Specifically, on October 13, 2004, Parker shot James Wise multiple times in an effort to retaliate against Wise who minutes earlier had robbed a dealer working for the “Special Heroin” organization. Love had pointed Wise out to Parker. After the shooting Parker and Love fled the scene in a white Lexus. Parker shot Wise in broad daylight and there were several witnesses in the area of the shooting.

Co-defendants Melvin Gilbert, age 34, Darron Goods, a/k/a “Moo-man,” age 23, and  James Dinkins, a/k/a “Miami,” age 36, all of Baltimore, were sentenced to life in prison. Gilbert and Goods were convicted of the murder of federal witness John Dowery; Gilbert and Dinkins were also found guilty of the murder of Shannon Jemmison; and Dinkins was also convicted of the murder of Michael Bryant and a non-fatal shooting of John Dowery on October 19, 2005. All three men were convicted of conspiracy to distribute drugs and related gun charges.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy and Assistant State’s Attorneys Antonio Gioia and Lisa Goldberg, the Baltimore Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Debra Dwyer and Kwame J. Manley, who are prosecuting the case.