Source: United States Department of Justice News
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow today sentenced Rajeim Ali Bradshaw, age 49, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 136 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and heroin. As part of the sentence the Court took into account that Bradshaw admitted that he possessed two firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, on June 20, 2019, Baltimore County Police officers executed a search warrant at Bradshaw’s home and recovered 5.5 kilograms of fentanyl—enough to kill 2,275,000 people, as well as a kilogram of heroin. Law enforcement also located drug manufacturing, packaging, and distribution paraphernalia, including respirator mask, which are used to cut and package fentanyl. A DNA sample from one of the respirator masks found in Bradshaw’s home matched Bradshaw’s DNA profile. Further, Bradshaw’s cellphones were found to contain a large number of coded, drug-related messages. For instance, Bradshaw indicated to others that he had heroin and fentanyl to sell by sending messages telling them that the “grill” or “restaurant” was open.
Bradshaw admitted that the .40-caliber pistol and a rifle found in Bradshaw’s bedroom and ammunition seized from him during the investigation were in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities. Bradshaw also admitted that the $48,000 in cash found in his bedroom during the search was drug proceeds. As part of his plea agreement, Bradshaw must forfeit the firearms, ammunition, and the cash seized during the investigation.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN, an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime, is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This prosecution is also part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through relationships forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The specific mission of the Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force is to reduce violent, drug-related, and gang crime in the Baltimore area and surrounding region.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI Baltimore and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher M. Rigali and James T. Wallner, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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