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Date: 02-12-2019

Case Style:

United States of America v. Momodu Bondeva Kenton Gondo

Case Number: 1:16-cr-00051-CCB

Judge: Warren A Brown

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

Plaintiff's Attorney: Leo J. Wise and Derek E. Hines

Defendant's Attorney: Warren A. Brown

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Baltimore, MD - Former Baltimore City Police Gun Trace Task Force Detective Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Racketeering and Heroin Distribution Conspiracy

U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced former Baltimore Police Detective Momodu Bondeva Kenton Gondo, age 36, of Owings Mills, Maryland, today to 10 years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing heroin.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Chief Terrence B. Sheridan of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

“This prosecution demonstrates that no one is above the law. When we have evidence of wrongdoing, we will follow that evidence and prosecute you--whether you wear a badge or not,” said Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Momodu Gondo and the other corrupt officers in the GTTF betrayed the public’s trust and dishonored their badge. Their federal prison sentences are just punishment for their crimes”

Momodu Gondo joined the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) on November 29, 2005 and was later assigned to the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a division of the Baltimore Police Department. According to his plea agreement, Gondo conspired to steal money, property, and narcotics by detaining victims, entering residences, conducting traffic stops, and swearing out false search warrant affidavits. In addition, Gondo prepared and submitted false official incident and arrest reports, reports of property seized from arrestees, and charging documents, which concealed the fact that Gondo and his co-conspirators stole money, property, and narcotics from individuals.

According to his plea agreement, Gondo admitted participating in eight robberies from March 2015 through July 2016. Gondo robbed civilians whom he detained and in some cases arrested and stole money and drugs from them. Gondo shared the proceeds with co-defendants and fellow BPD officers Jemell Rayam, Wayne Jenkins, Daniel Hersl, Marcus Taylor, and others, and on other occasions, he kept all of the proceeds for himself. In each robbery, Gondo was armed with his BPD service firearm, individual victims of the robberies were physically restrained to facilitate the commission of the offense, and he authored false incident reports and other official documents, in some cases in order to conceal his criminal conduct and otherwise obstruct justice.

On October 5, 2015, Gondo and his co-conspirators robbed a drug dealer after Gondo and Rayam placed a tracking device on the victim’s car without court authorization so that they could rob his apartment when he was not home. Gondo acted as a lookout while Rayam and Glen Kyle Wells entered the victim’s apartment. Rayam and Wells stole a Rolex watch, a firearm, $12,000 to $14,000 in cash, and at least 800 grams of heroin. After the robbery, Gondo and his co-conspirators split the money they had stolen. Wells took the Rolex, the gun, and the drugs and sold some of the drugs. Rayam also sold some of the drugs and shared proceeds with Gondo.

Gondo admitted to committing multiple robberies with Sergeant Thomas Allers. For example, on March 11, 2015, Gondo, Rayam, and Allers searched a residence and discovered a large quantity of cash. Gondo, Rayam, and Allers each took some of the cash. Gondo took between $8,000 and $10,000.

Gondo further admitted that he sold a seized gun and marijuana to a drug dealer. In June 2016, Gondo, Rayam, and Jenkins conducted a car stop and then went to the driver’s residence, without a warrant, and seized a 9mm handgun and a pound of marijuana. After Jenkins directed the sale of the gun and marijuana in order to repay a debt Rayam owed Jenkins for drugs, Gondo arranged for an associate of his, a drug dealer, to buy the marijuana and handgun.

On July 8, 2016, Gondo and his co-defendants Hersl and Rayam detained two victims after a car stop. Gondo stole money from one of the victims. At Jenkins’s direction, Hersl, Rayam, and Gondo transported the two victims to a BPD office to interrogate them. Jenkins told his co-conspirators to treat him like he was the U.S. Attorney. After speaking with one of the individuals, Jenkins, Hersl, Gondo, and Rayam then transported both of the victims to their home and robbed them of $20,000. Jenkins, Hersl, Rayam, and Gondo divided the $20,000.

In a separate seven-count indictment, Gondo and five co-defendants were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin as part of the Shropshire drug trafficking organization (“DTO”). Gondo admitted that he provided sensitive law enforcement information to other conspirators in order to help the DTO and protect his co-conspirators. According to his plea agreement, Gondo admitted to providing protection, information and tips to his co-conspirator and co-defendant Antonio Shropshire about how to avoid being arrested. For example, on March 31, 2016, Gondo alerted Shropshire, who along with his co-conspirators, primarily distributed heroin near the Alameda Shopping Center in Baltimore, that the Drug Enforcement Administration had installed a GPS tracking device on his vehicle. Shropshire, under Gondo’s instruction, then removed the GPS device and placed it on another vehicle.

According to his plea agreement, Gondo also admitted that he routinely submitted fraudulent individual overtime reports defrauding the Baltimore Police Department and the citizens of Maryland. On these reports, Gondo falsely certified that he worked his entire regularly assigned shifts, when he did not, and that he worked additional hours for which he received overtime pay, when he had not worked all and in some cases any of those overtime hours. Gondo also admitted that he submitted false and fraudulent overtime reports on behalf of his co-defendants.

Lastly, Gondo admitted to obstructing law enforcement by alerting his co-defendants about potential investigations of their criminal conduct, coaching them to give false testimony to investigators from the Internal Investigations Division of the BPD, and turning off his body cameras to avoid recording encounters with civilians.

Former Baltimore Police Sergeant Wayne Earl Jenkins, age 38, of Middle River, Maryland was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for a racketeering conspiracy, racketeering, two counts of robbery, destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation, and four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. Former Detectives Daniel Thomas Hersl, age 49, of Joppa, Maryland and Marcus Roosevelt Taylor, age 32, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, were convicted after a three-week trial and were each sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, for racketeering conspiracy and racketeering offenses, including overtime fraud, and robbery. Former Sergeant Thomas Allers, age 49, of Linthicum Heights, Maryland was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, for racketeering conspiracy and racketeering offenses, including nine robberies. Former Detective Jemell Lamar Rayam, age 38, of Owings Mills, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, including multiple robberies, and overtime fraud, and is scheduled for sentencing on March 8, 2019 at 10:00 a.m.

Antonio Shropshire, a/k/a Brill, B, and Tony, age 33, to 25 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine relating to the drug trafficking organization in North Baltimore. Co-defendants Alexander Campbell, a/k/a Munch, age 30, and Glen Kyle Wells, a/k/a Lou, and Kyle, age 31, both of Baltimore were sentenced to 196 months and 188 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in the drug trafficking organization.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the DEA, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.


Charge:


21 U.S.C. 846 CONSPIRACY TO DISTRIBUTE AND POSSESS WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE HEROIN; 18:2 AIDING AND ABETTING
(1)

Outcome: 02/12/2019 419 Sentencing as to Momodu Bondeva Kenton Gondo held on 2/12/2019 before Judge Catherine C. Blake.(Court Reporter: Douglas Zweizig) (kam, Deputy Clerk) (Entered: 02/12/2019)

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