A county grand jury has indicted a fifth defendant accused of being a drug kingpin in the $1 million marijuana ring that allegedly included a school principal, but the state's attorney's office has dropped drug kingpin charges lodged against another defendant in the case.
William Bailey Jr., 46, of Annapolis was indicted Monday under the Maryland drug kingpin statute, said Deputy State's Attorney Gerald K. Anders.
Mr. Bailey is the fifth defendant indicted under the statute after the Oct. 29 raid on area homes and storage sheds that netted 800 pounds of marijuana.
Last week, the grand jury indicted James Emory, 47, of Pasadena, Phillip B. Dulany, 48, of Pasadena, Lawrence C. Leiben, 49, of Glen Burnie, and Roger Emory, 43, of Glen Burnie.
Felony drug charges against Barry E. Parker, 43, of Annapolis were dropped by the state's attorney's office. He is charged instead with misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana and possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia.
Court charging documents show that 6 ounces of marijuana were found in Mr. Parker's bedroom.
Mr. Anders said yesterday that the decision to drop the charges was part of a continuing investigation, but he would not rule out more serious charges being lodged against other defendants in the case.
He said yesterday that there is no change in the status regarding criminal charges against Patricia Emory, the Severna Park Elementary School principal who is charged under the kingpin law for allegedly being part of the same ring.
Mrs. Emory, who is James M. Emory's wife, has publicly maintained her innocence. She has agreed to appear before the grand jury Dec. 7.
Mr. Anders said the grand jury will meet once a week for the next several weeks rather than every other week because of the backlog of criminal cases that must be reviewed.