The alleged leader of a West Baltimore drug crew has been charged with killing a 27-year-old man in February, as part of a long-term wiretap investigation, city authorities said Tuesday.
As the mother of the victim, Jasper Thomas, sat in the front row quietly sobbing, city and federal officials announced charges against Calvin Sanders and 15 other people alleged to be part of two drug organizations operating in the Midtown Edmondson neighborhood, mostly north of Franklin Street west of the highway to nowhere.
In addition to the fatal shooting, which occurred Feb. 1 in the 1800 block of Edmondson Ave., the indictment alleges Sanders authorized an attack on a rival drug crew member in September, and that members plotted to kidnap a woman in the Hampden area on Oct. 29.
“Our local drug trade fuels violence and murder in the city, so the ability to stop and to intercept drug activity, especially the targeting of fentanyl distribution, is an integral component to tackling violence,” Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said.
Mosby said Baltimore homicide detectives partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Maryland State Police, as well as city and federal prosecutors, to pull together the case, which is charged in Baltimore Circuit Court.
Sanders also was charged under the state’s drug kingpin statute, as was Jermol McCoy, alleged to be the leader of a separate drug organization. Raids on different properties said to be associated with the crews netted 100 grams of fentanyl and 68 grams — less than three ounces — of cocaine. Mosby said there was “other evidence that will come out in trial.”
“This level of collaboration is exactly what the people of Baltimore are asking for, and exactly what we committed to do,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said. “This is the way we make Baltimore safer.”
Sanders’ attorney, Andre Mahasa, said he could not yet comment on the allegations. McCoy’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
Records show the charges were initially filed in late October, with a superseding indictment unsealed this month.
One defendant, Wayne England, remains at large and authorities were asking for the public’s help to track him down. England is accused of taking part in the failed kidnapping.
Though often charged, Sanders hasn’t been convicted of a crime since 2005, records show. In 2012, a 20-count armed robbery case was dropped. In 2011, two cases totaling 26 counts including attempted murder were dropped.
Thomas’s mother Darlene Julius spoke at the news conference, saying her family celebrated news of the charges.
“We all have moments where we look at pictures or remember things about Jasper,” she said. “When we found out ... these guys were actually apprehended, we all just took a moment and shouted; we were so happy and so excited.”