Date: 12-13-2017

Case Style:

Case Number: 1:17-cr-00113-GLR-1

Judge: George L. Russell, III

Court: United States District Court for the District of Maryland (Baltimore County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Sandra Wilkinson and Lauren Perry

Defendant's Attorney: Katherine Tang Newberger - FPD

Description: Baltimore, MD - Laurel Man Sentenced To 4 Years In Federal Prison For Illegal Gun Possession Depicted On Social Media

United States District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Jamil Cross, age 27, of Laurel, Maryland to 4 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm. Judge Russell imposed an additional consecutive term of 9 months because Cross committed the crime while on supervised release following a federal conviction for sex trafficking.

The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Gary L. Gardner of the Howard County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, after a man was shot and killed in Howard County, Maryland in December 18, 2016, the man arrested for the murder called Cross on a recorded line at the local jail. The man asked Cross to delete photographs and other information on various social media websites that depicted the men and other associates in possession of handguns and drugs. After hearing the call, a Howard County police detective searched for and found a music video that a third party produced for Cross and that Cross posted on Twitter, a public social media site, on or about August 1, 2016. The video depicted Cross in possession of a semi-automatic pistol with a laser site. On one occasion, Cross held the pistol magazine toward the camera showing the cartridges/bullets loaded inside the magazine and then inserted the magazine into the pistol. Other men seen and identified on the video included the man arrested for the murder in possession of a gun, as well as Cross’s co-defendant, Carroll Buck. Cross and his associates were known to hang out at a local barber shop/pool hall in the same area of Laurel known as “Whiskey Bottom”.

As the result of various federal search and seizure warrants authorized for various social media accounts, law enforcement then identified numerous photos featuring Cross and other people in possession of multiple firearms from August 2016 through January 2017. In some instances, the individuals in the photographs are seen sharing the same guns.

Howard County police obtained state search and seizure warrants for Cross’s two known addresses on N. Laurel Road and Laurel Bowie Road and executed both warrants on February 2, 2017. During the search of the N. Laurel Road address, multiple items of evidence were located in Buck’s bedroom including .40 caliber ammunition, cocaine, marijuana, and digital scales. Cross’s fingerprints were found on the box with the ammunition. A gun and various drug paraphernalia was found during the search of the Laurel Bowie Road address.

The case against co-defendant, Carroll Buck of Laurel, Maryland is still pending.

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI, Howard County Police Department, and the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.

Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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