Baltimore Crips Gang Member Who Brandished a Stolen Firearm During a Robbery is Sentenced to Over 15 Years in Federal Prison

Baltimore, Maryland – Yesterday U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Ridgley Shipley, a/k/a “Crazy”, age 32, of Baltimore, Maryland to 184 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for a racketeering conspiracy and for using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  Shipley was a member of the Eight Tray Gangster (“ETG”) Crips gang in Baltimore.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department. 

The ETG Crips are a violent subset of the Crips gang that originated in California in the 1970s, eventually operating on the streets and in correctional facilities in Maryland beginning in the 2000s.  For many years, the ETG Crips controlled the drug trade in particular territories in Baltimore City, including the area near the intersection of West Baltimore Street and South Hilton Street in West Baltimore (the “Baltimore Hilton neighborhood”), the area near the intersection of West Lexington Street and North Fremont Avenue (the “Lexington Terrace neighborhood”), and the area near the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Sinclair Lane in North Baltimore (the “Frankford Sinclair neighborhood”).  The ETG Crips members from the Baltimore Hilton and Lexington Terrace neighborhoods referred to themselves as the Baccwest ETG Crips—modeling themselves after the Baccwest ETG Crips in Los Angeles—and ETG Crips members from the Frankford Sinclair neighborhood called themselves the Nutty North Side ETG Crips.  The two groups worked together for common criminal purposes.

According to his guilty plea, from 2008 to 2019, Shipley participated in the gang’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity which included drug dealing, robbery, witness retaliation, and other acts of violence.  For example, while incarcerated in 2017, Shipley physically assaulted a fellow ETG Crips gang member who violated gang code by disrespecting another Crip in front of members of a rival gang.  Shipley also discussed “weeding out” unofficial self-professed ETG Crips members, recruited new gang members in prison, and discussed murdering at least one victim who cooperated with law enforcement.

After Shipley was released from prison, Shipley and a co-conspirator robbed the employees of an Arnold, Maryland car repair shop in June 2019.  During the robbery, Shipley brandished a stolen, fully loaded, .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun.

Co-defendant Trayvon Hall, a/k/a Tru,” and “G Tru,” age 31, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to racketeering and drug conspiracy charges on August 26, 2022.  If the Court accepts his plea, Hall will be sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.  NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles.  For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, ATF, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter J. Martinez and Kim Y. Oldham, who prosecuted the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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