2 Corrupt Baltimore Police Officers Convicted

BALTIMORE, MD — With more than 100 criminal cases dismissed as the Baltimore Police Department battles a corruption scandal, two officers were convicted Monday for their roles in a racketeering scheme in which officers victimized those they were sworn to protect. Detective Daniel Thomas Hersl, 48, of Joppa, and Detective Marcus Roosevelt Taylor, 31, of Glen Burnie, were found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, racketeering and Hobbs Act robbery by a jury Monday evening.

Each guilty count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Hersl and Taylor were acquitted on the charge of using a gun in the commission of a crime.

The two former detectives were members of the Baltimore Police Department's now defunct gun trace task force, which was a special unit within the department to take guns off the streets.

They stole money, property and narcotics through various means: detaining victims, entering their homes, conducting traffic stops and swearing out false search warrant affidavits, according to the Maryland district attorney. The officers also submitted false reports, including charging documents and property seizure documentation, officials said.

Several members were indicted on federal racketeering charges in March 2017, and except for Hersl and Taylor, they pleaded guilty to a conspiracy that involved using their positions as police to rob people and commit overtime fraud.

The following officers have pleaded guilty, officials say:

• Sergeant Thomas Allers, 49, of Linthicum Heights
• Detective Momodu Bondeva Kenton Gondo aka GMoney and Mike, 36, of Owings Mills
• Detective Evodio Calles Hendrix, 32, of Randallstown
• Sergeant Wayne Earl Jenkins, 37, of Middle River
• Detective Jemell Lamar Rayam, 37, of Owings Mills
• Detective Maurice Kilpatrick Ward, 37, of Middle River

At trial, Hersl and Taylor were convicted of racketeering conspiracy, which included 14 acts of robbery and extortion that occurred between 2015 and 2016, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

They were also convicted of an additional 16 acts of robbery and extortion that began in 2015, before they joined the gun trace task force, officials said. The Hobbs Act, which was invoked in this case, involves corruption of public officials using their positions of power to extort or rob.

The amount Hersl and Taylor took from victims was up to $200,000, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Tuesday.

"In some cases, there was no evidence of criminal conduct by the victims; the officers stole money that had been earned lawfully," the U.S. Attorney stated. "In other instances, narcotics and firearms were recovered from arrestees. In several instances, the defendants did not file any police reports. The amounts stolen ranged from $200 to $200,000."

In one case that both Hersl and Taylor were implicated in, prosecutors said the officers took $2,000 from a drug dealer at a storage facility who had been keeping his money in a sock. The victim had $4,800 when they went into his storage unit, claiming they were there to search it, and when they left, the man's sock contained $2,800.

The policemen did not have warrant and did not write up an incident report detailing the money they seized on Sept. 7, 2016, officials alleged.

Hersl, Taylor and other officers at the scene said they had a warrant when they approached the man, identified by The Baltimore Sun as Sergio Summerville, a "small-time drug dealer living out of a storage unit."

In court, Summerville testified: "They came at me like a gang or something," and he said that for his "freedom," he was told he would have to surrender a certain amount of money each week, The Sun reported.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo Wise described the two detectives on trial as "hunters" who "preyed upon the weak and the vulnerable," specifically victims they knew would not report them.

In addition, the officers were found to have made false claims that they were working when they were not, nearly doubling their salaries.

Hersl, who had an annual salary of $77,591, submitted overtime claims of $66,602.98 in fiscal year 2016, resulting in gross pay of $144,193.98. In one case, Hersl said he was working a 16-hour shift, including four hours of overtime, from July 23, 2016, to July 24, 2016; he was actually in Bel Air, Maryland, officials said.

Taylor, whose annual salary during that same time period was $66,784, submitted overtime claims of $56,246.35, resulting in gross pay of $123,030.35, officials said. Authorities said Taylor filed a report stating he had worked the same 12-hour shift plus four hours of overtime that Hersl did; when in reality, officials said Taylor was on vacation in New York City at the time.

The jury deliberated for hours and delivered the verdict of guilty around 5:30 p.m. on Monday following weeks of testimony in the trial.

"The verdict rendered by jurors in this disturbing trial is clearly the right one, given the abundance of compelling and damning evidence against these former officers of the now disbanded Gun Trace Task Force," Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said in a statement. "I want all of our citizens to know that I have likewise been appalled by the level of dishonesty and betrayal that these individuals, and others also implicated, perpetrated here in our community." (See the full statement from the mayor at the end of the article.)

State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said that her office "continues to comb through the cases that were potentially impacted by the illegal acts of these former officers." According to Fox 45, Mosby's office had thrown out 123 cases involving the officers as of December 2017.

Mosby also connected the officers' convictions Monday to her assertions that there was a pattern of misconduct by Baltimore Police in the case of Freddie Gray. None of the charges against the six officers in that case held up in court after the 2015 death of Gray, whose funeral touched off riots in the city.

"The facts revealed during the [gun trace task force] trial were not only deeply disturbing but further highlighted the concerns I asserted in the dismissal of the remaining Freddie Gray cases," Mosby said in a statement Monday evening. After three officers were acquitted during bench trials, Mosby said she thought there was a need for reforms in the criminal justice system, including an outside agency to investigate police cases and the ability for prosecutors to have a say in whether a judge or jury would preside over a trial.

"Baltimore is in need of significant reforms within our criminal justice system and we must collectively strengthen our efforts to regain public trust," Mosby said Monday night.

The Baltimore Police Department will proceed with plans to terminate Hersl and Taylor, according to a statement officials issued Monday evening, which said the detectives have been suspended without pay since their indictments in March 2017.

"We recognize that this indictment and subsequent trial uncovered some of the most egregious and despicable acts ever perpetrated in law enforcement," Police Commissioner Designate Darryl De Sousa said in a statement. "Let me make it clear; I have zero tolerance for corruption. Our job moving forward is to earn back the trust and respect of the community." Read the full statement below.

• 7 Baltimore Police Officers Indicted In Racketeering Scheme
• Sergeant Wayne Jenkins Pleads Guilty To Federal Charges
• Indicted Baltimore Police Officers Charged With 13 More Robberies

After convicted officers testified about abuses of power in the police department while on the stand during the trial, De Sousa announced on Friday that he was reorganizing the structure of the Baltimore Police Department, with several changes inspired by the issues that came to light from the gun trace task force.

De Sousa said he was putting "layers and layers and layers in" to ensure accountability in the department.

An anti-corruption unit has been created in the Office of Professional Responsibility which will, among other tasks, address the names of any officers mentioned during the trials who have not been charged.

• Baltimore Police Department Reorg Rolled Out
• Detective Says Slain Officer Suiter Partook In Robberies: Report

De Sousa has also created an Inspectional Services and Integrity Division, which will oversee programs including random integrity tests and something new he is introducing, random polygraph testing for members in specialized units.

An initiative called the GMAP program will track arrests related to guns in the city.

With the gun force task force, "strong mechanisms...were not not in place to track gun arrests from beginning to adjudication, so this unit is responsible for tracking every single gun arrest in the city to see where it stands," De Sousa said.

Another issue that came to light from the gun trace task force cases was abusing overtime. Prosecutors allege that while one officer was being paid for overtime, he was on vacation, and in another case, the policeman was working on his house.

A new fiscal manager will track overtime abuse.

"There's going to be checks and balances in place to look at officers' overtime," De Sousa said. "My priority is the corruption. My priority is the safety of the city."

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Photos courtesy of the Baltimore Police Department.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.