Five county residents among 35 indicted on racketeering, drug charges

Five Howard County residents were among the nearly three dozen men and women indicted on federal racketeering and drug charges. The charges stemmed from a laundry list of accusations, including an armed home invasion robbery in Howard in March 2010.

Antonio Javier Landers, 24, Aurelio Manuel Barahona, 24, and Darryl Rashad Smith, 29, are facing racketeering conspiracy and drug trafficking conspiracy charges. Joseph Aaron Artis, 22, and Alex Antonio Mendoza, 23, are facing drug trafficking conspiracy charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

They were five of 35 alleged members of the South Side Brims Bloods gang who were indicted by a federal grand jury in September; those indictments were sealed until Oct. 13.

Justice Department officials say the gang's reach spanned the length of the state, from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore. Since 2005, gang members have been involved in murders, shootings, home invasion robberies, drug trafficking and witness intimidation, according to a news release.

Howard County Police Chief William McMahon praised the cooperation between agencies that led to the indictments.

"Crime is really a regional issue, and what happens in one area of the state has impacts on other areas," he said. "This shows that no communities are immune."