Concord, NC Man, Who Was Fugitive for 8 Years, Pleads Guilty to His Role in Heroin Conspiracy

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA —Corey Xavier Baldwin, a/k/a “Core,” a/k/a “James Cory,” a/k/a “Kenny Womack,” 53, of Concord, North Carolina, has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Baldwin was one of 10 defendants charged in April 2014, following a series of court-authorized, DEA-monitored wiretaps over several telephones in the Columbia area. Six of the 10 defendants were arrested in April 2014, while four remained fugitives, including Baldwin. Baldwin was arrested in September 2022 by the United States Marshals Service in Concord. Two other fugitives were arrested in 2017 in Texas, and one was arrested in May 2022 in Brooklyn, New York.

The 2013 investigation revealed that a group of individuals in the Columbia area were obtaining heroin from various sources outside of South Carolina and then distributing it in the Midlands. Evidence indicated that the suppliers were initially getting the heroin in packages from India. Several packages destined for Columbia and containing heroin were intercepted by law enforcement during the investigation. Evidence further showed that the co-defendants later traveled to New York to obtain heroin and transported it back to Columbia where it was distributed. Baldwin, who came to Columbia in 2013 after serving time in Ohio for a 1994 aggravated murder conviction, was good friends with one of the leaders of the drug organization and assisted him by transporting money to New York during trips to obtain heroin. Baldwin also assisted in the distribution of heroin in the Columbia area.

Nine of Baldwin’s co-defendants earlier pleaded guilty to their role in the drug conspiracy here in South Carolina and were sentenced as follows: 

• Eric Shawn Bradley, of Columbia, was sentenced to 210 months in prison followed by 8 years of supervised release; 
• Michael Glover, of Columbia, was sentenced to 324 months in prison followed by 8 years of supervised release; 
• Jihad Salahadeen Pollard, of Columbia, was sentenced to 121 months in prison followed by 4 years of supervised release; 
• Kenneth Crawford, Jr., of Washington, D.C., and formerly of Columbia, was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by 8 years of supervised release;  
• Charles Raheem Bradley, of Columbia, was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by 6 years of supervised release; 
• Anthony Troy Glover, of Columbia, was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by 8 years of supervised release; 
• Larry Grover Bookman, of Columbia, was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by 6 years of supervised release; 
• Jessany Lyons, of Far Rockaway, New York, was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release; and 
• Dockim Deeshawn McKnight, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by 4 years of supervised release.

The New York heroin suppliers were charged and convicted by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York for their role in the drug conspiracy.

Baldwin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. He also faces a fine of up to $1,000,000, and at least 3 years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment.  Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Baldwin after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the United States Probation Office.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) High Intensity Drug Task Force, which was comprised of agents and officers from the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Secret Service, Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office. The United States Marshals Service and the Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force-Charlotte Office assisted in locating the four fugitives. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes is prosecuting the case.

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