Philadelphia Cop Pleads Guilty In BPD Drug Conspiracy

BALTIMORE, MD — After three days of trial in Baltimore, a former Philadelphia police officer admitted he was part of a drug distribution conspiracy involving the Baltimore Police Department's now-defunct Gun Trace Task Force. The officer admitted that he sold heroin and cocaine that the Baltimore police had stolen from people.

Eric Troy Snell, 34, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Nov. 1, to conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.

Snell, whose career included being an officer with the Philadelphia Police Department and the Baltimore Police Department, now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

"The community needs to know that when we have evidence of wrongdoing, we will follow that evidence and prosecute you — whether you wear a badge or not," Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur said in a statement following Snell's guilty plea. "Prosecuting law enforcement officers is painful, but necessary if we are to restore the public’s trust in our justice system. No one is above the law."

Based on court documents and the plea hearing on Thursday, Nov. 1, prosecutors said that Snell was a member of the Baltimore Police Department who left the agency in 2008 and became an officer with the Philadelphia Police Department in September 2014.

While at the Baltimore Police Academy, officials said he trained with Jemell Rayam, 38, who later became a member of the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force. Rayam has already pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, including multiple robberies and overtime fraud.

From October 2016 to June 2017, prosecutors said that Snell conspired with Rayam and others to sell heroin and cocaine that Baltimore officers had seized. Among the drugs were 9 ounces of cocaine thrown from a vehicle that ultimately crashed near Mondawmin Mall on Oct. 3, 2016, officials said.

On that day, Rayam and Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, who headed up the task force, had engaged the vehicle in a high-speed chase, prosecutors said; and after retrieving the cocaine, Jenkins told Rayam to sell most of the drugs and give him the proceeds.

Once Snell learned of the seized cocaine, he asked Rayam on Oct. 18, 2016, to give him the drugs so he could sell them, according to prosecutors. Two days later, Rayam brought the cocaine to Philadelphia to Snell, whose brother would sell the cocaine.

The three met to discuss the sale and price of the cocaine, and prosecutors said Snell admitted that he received $2,000 from the sale of the drugs and put $1,000 in Rayam's bank account on Oct. 27, 2016; he also admitted he met multiple times with Rayam to coordinate similar drug transactions. According to prosecutors, the amount of narcotics foreseeable to him in the conspiracy was the equivalent of at least 100 kilograms of marijuana.

Snell was arrested on Nov. 14, 2017, and taken to Baltimore for an initial appearance. He admitted that he lied to FBI agents when he told them the money was to repay Rayam for a gambling debt. When law enforcement searched Snell's residence that day, officials said they found a box with cocaine residue next to a package of razor blades for processing narcotics, a .40-caliber and 9 mm handgun ammunition.

In Snell's master bedroom, investigators said they recovered Snell’s Philadelphia Police Department service weapon, a 9 mm handgun and a 40-caliber handgun, and two unregistered short-barrel assault rifles.

"Law enforcement officers are given incredible power to enforce the law and ensure justice. Thwarting abuse of this authority is necessary to protect the rights of our citizens and uphold confidence in law enforcement," Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Baltimore FBI Field Office said in a statement. "Anyone who takes advantage of their position for personal gain or in persistence of criminal misconduct must and will be held accountable."

Snell will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake on Jan. 30, 2019.

Rayam is awaiting sentencing.

Jenkins was sentenced in June to 25 years in prison for pleading guilty to racketeering; two counts of robbery; racketeering conspiracy; destroying, altering or falsifying records in a federal investigation; and four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.

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• Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force Leader Sentenced To Federal Prison
• 2 Corrupt Baltimore Police Officers Convicted
• Detective Says Slain Officer Suiter Partook In Robberies: Report
• Indicted Baltimore Police Officers Charged With 13 More Robberies

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