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Press Release

Baltimore TTG Member Sentenced To 25 Years In Federal Prison On Federal Racketeering And Drug Conspiracy Charges, Including Three Murders, An Attempted Murder, And Drug Distribution

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland

      

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Brandon Bazemore, a/k/a Man Man, age 25, of Baltimore, today to 25 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to participate in a violent racketeering enterprise known as Trained To Go (TTG), including committing three murders, an attempted murder, and drug trafficking, and for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, marijuana, and cocaine. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Interim Commissioner Gary Tuggle of the Baltimore Police Department; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.

“Brandon Bazemore was a member of one of the most violent gangs operating in Baltimore City,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Today’s sentence removes an armed, violent criminal from our neighborhoods and brings him to justice in the federal system, which has no parole—ever.”

According to his plea agreement, since 2010, Bazemore has been a member of Trained To Go (TTG), a criminal organization which operated in the Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore.  TTG members engaged in drug distribution and acts of violence including murder, armed robbery, and witness intimidation.  Members and associates of TTG sold heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, and worked to defend their exclusive right to control who sold narcotics in TTG territory.  

Specifically, Bazemore admitted that he routinely sold “packs” of heroin at the direction of TTG leaders.  Typically, a “pack” contained between 25 and 50 capsules of heroin, or approximately 2.5 to 5 grams of heroin.  Bazemore also admitted that he participated in a murder on behalf of TTG or at the direction of TTG’s leadership.  In July 2015, a member of another gang solicited members of TTG to murder LR, a member of the Black Guerilla Family gang, in exchange for $10,000.  On July 7, 2015, Bazemore and other TTG members retrieved gloves, masks, and firearms and traveled by van to the 900 block of West Fayette Street where LR was located.  Bazemore and the TTG members exited the van and fired dozens of rounds at LR, then returned to the van and fled.  When police arrived, they discovered LR and two other victims, JP and GT, all suffering from gunshot wounds.  LR was pronounced dead at the scene.  JP and GT were transported to Shock Trauma, where they were also pronounced dead.  Officers recovered 23 9mm casings, 29 .40-caliber casings, and one .45-caliber casing from the crime scene.  A fourth victim was also shot, but survived.

Eight of Bazemore’s TTG co-defendants, including Montana Barronette, were recently convicted after a 24-day trial. All face a maximum sentence of life in prison for racketeering and drug conspiracies.  Co-defendants Hisaun Chatman, age 31, and James Woodfolk, age 20, both of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy and were each sentenced to five years in prison, to be served concurrent to the state sentence each is currently serving. 

Co-defendant Roger Taylor, of Baltimore, is still a fugitive, and the charges against him are pending.  Anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of Roger Taylor is asked to contact the FBI-Baltimore Field office at (410) 265-8080.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, which includes FBI special agents and task force officers from the Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County Police Departments.  FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force is responsible for identifying and targeting the most violent gangs in the Baltimore metropolitan area, to address gang violence and the associated homicides in Baltimore.  The vision of the program is to use federal racketeering statutes to disrupt and dismantle significant violent criminal threats and criminal enterprises affecting the safety and well-being of our citizens and our communities.      

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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  PSN was reinvigorated in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.                           

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, the ATF, the DEA, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel C. Gardner and Christopher J. Romano, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Hanley of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

 

Updated November 13, 2018