United States of America v. Jean Brown

Baltimore, Maryland, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with drug trafficking.



From at least 2000 until 2010, Jean Brown ran a marijuana trafficking organization that transported large amounts of marijuana from Arizona and California to Maryland for distribution in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Washington, D.C. Brown used tractor trailers and car carriers to transport the money to the West Coast and the marijuana back to the East Coast. Brown's shipments came monthly, if not more frequently, in amounts which were initially a few hundred pounds. By 2005, when she met Carl Smith, the monthly or bi-monthly shipments were 1,000 pounds of marijuana per shipment. The marijuana was purchased for approximately $500 per pound and sold for $1,000 per pound, for a revenue per month of $1,000,000. Brown transported the majority of her profits to Jamaica, where she was using it to build homes. ...



The main method of transportation of the marijuana was by tractor-trailer. Brown owned and controlled several trucking companies over the years, usually held in the name of another co-conspirator, and would use her trucks to transport large quantities of currency to Arizona and to return with a load of marijuana acquired from Mexican sources of supply. Former co-defendant Dmytro Holovko (aka "the Russian”) and Herbert Gentle (aka "Bird”) were two of Brown's drivers. In this fashion, Brown acquired approximately one ton of marijuana per month, purchasing it for approximately $500 per pound and selling it for double the price. As a result, her profit was approximately $1,000,000 per month.



From approximately 2000 until sometime around 2006 or 2007, Brown's primary partner was Wilmott Kerr (aka "Tough Luck”) who showed Brown how to create a trucking business to provide an air of legitimacy while still smuggling large amounts of marijuana from the West Coast. Kerr and Brown shared a personal relationship which can only be described as volatile. In 2006 or 2007, Brown began doing business with Carl Smith, who already had a marijuana connection in Arizona. While Brown did not immediately cut ties with Kerr, she began phasing her operations to work more with Smith. As with Kerr, Brown also began a volatile personal relationship with Smith.



Brown's primary customers for the marijuana were individuals in Pittsburgh named "Zander” and "Yankee”, though there will be testimony that Brown also distributed marijuana in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and New York. Several witnesses will testify about their trips to Pittsburgh with Brown (and sometimes without her, but at her direction) to drop off marijuana or pick up money from Zander or Yankee.



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Motion for compassionate release denied.