Baltimore Detective Pleads Not Guilty, Gets 18 Years In Prison

BALTIMORE, MD — A former Baltimore detective was sentenced to federal prison time. He was the second officer from the Baltimore Police Department to be sentenced Thursday in a case that brought to light a corrupt contingent within the eighth largest municipal police department in the U.S.

Former Detective Marcus Roosevelt Taylor, 30, of Glen Burnie, entered a plea of not guilty in the federal racketeering case. He was sentenced hours after the highest ranking officer in the racketeering conspiracy was ordered to serve federal prison time.

Seven members of the 3,100-member Baltimore Police Department were indicted in the federal racketeering case. Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, who headed up the gun trace task force, was sentenced to 25 years Thursday morning after pleading guilty to his role in the racketeering conspiracy.

The same judge was responsible for sentencing in Taylor's case Thursday afternoon, ruling he must serve 18 years in federal prison.

RELATED: Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force Leader Sentenced To Federal Prison

A federal jury convicted Taylor in February of racketeering conspiracy, racketeering and Hobbs Act robbery. The Hobbs Act involves corruption of public officials using their positions of power to extort or rob.

At the three-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing Taylor stole money, property and narcotics from victims, including people who had not committed any crimes. He stole between $200 and $200,000 from his victims, according to authorities, who said he also falsified reports and committed overtime fraud.

Taylor was a member of the gun trace task force, a now disbanded unit in the Baltimore Police Department that was formed to take guns off the streets. Instead, prosecutors said Taylor and other members of the force stole drugs and weapons from those they detained, in some cases without filing a police report.

U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Taylor on Thursday afternoon to 18 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for racketeering conspiracy and related offenses, including robbery and overtime fraud.

Taylor maintains he is innocent, according to WJZ.

See Related:

• 7 Baltimore Police Officers Indicted In Racketeering Scheme
• Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force Leader Sentenced To Federal Prison
• Indicted Baltimore Police Officers Charged With 13 More Robberies

Picture of Detective Marcus Taylor courtesy of Baltimore Police Department.