Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Timothy Floyd, aka Tim Rod, 28, of Baltimore, to serve 30 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to participate in a drug distribution conspiracy and a violent racketeering enterprise known as Trained To Go (TTG). The racketeering conspiracy included eight murders, as well as drug trafficking and witness intimidation.
Floyd and his co-defendants were also convicted of a drug distribution conspiracy involving heroin, marijuana, and cocaine. The sentence was imposed on July 19.
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the FBI Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Don A. Hibbert of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Baltimore District Office; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Tim Altomare and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.
According to the evidence presented at their 24-day trial, Floyd and his co-defendants are all members of TTG, a criminal organization that operated in the Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore, whose members engaged in drug distribution and acts of violence including murder, armed robbery, and witness intimidation. As part of the conspiracy, each defendant agreed that a conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity for TTG.
The evidence at trial showed that members and associates of TTG sold heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, and worked to defend their exclusive right to control who sold narcotics in TTG territory. Floyd served as one of TTG’s primary distributors of heroin and marijuana, routinely selling “packs” of heroin and gram quantities of marijuana from multiple locations in Sandtown. Typically, a “pack” contained between 25 and 50 gel capsules of heroin. In addition, the evidence proved that between May 20, 2010 and Jan. 9, 2017, Floyd, his co-defendants, and other members of TTG committed acts of violence, including murders, shootings, armed robbery, and witness intimidation. Murders were committed in retaliation for individuals robbing TTG members of drugs and drug proceeds, or while TTG members robbed others of their drugs and drug proceeds, as well as in murder-for-hire schemes. Further, the defendants engaged in witness intimidation through violence or threats of violence, to prevent individuals from cooperating with law enforcement.
The leader of the gang, Montana Barronette, aka Tana, and Tanner, 23, and his brother, Terrell Sivells, aka Rell, 27, both of Baltimore, were each sentenced to life in prison on Feb. 15 and April 26, 2019, respectively. Co-defendants Brandon Wilson, aka Ali, 24, and Taurus Tillman, aka Tash, 30, both of Baltimore, were each sentenced to serve 25 years in prison on March 1 and May 21, 2019, respectively. Two other co-defendants, John Harrison, aka Binkie, 28, and Linton Broughton, aka Marty, 25, both from Baltimore, were sentenced to serve life in prison and to 30 years in prison, respectively, on March 15, 2019. Three other TTG members previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to between five and 25 years in prison.
Dennis Pulley, aka Denmo, 31, of Baltimore, is the final defendant convicted at the trial who is awaiting sentencing. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the racketeering and drug conspiracies.
Another defendant, Roger Taylor, aka Milk, 28, of Baltimore, a fugitive since July 2017, was arrested on June 30, 2019, and is now awaiting trial. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, which includes FBI special agents and task force officers from the Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County Police Departments. FBI Baltimore Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force is responsible for identifying and targeting the most violent gangs in the Baltimore metropolitan area, to address gang violence and the associated homicides in Baltimore. The vision of the program is to use federal racketeering statutes to disrupt and dismantle significant violent criminal threats and criminal enterprises affecting the safety and well-being of our citizens and our communities.
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. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, the ATF, the DEA, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Romano, Daniel C. Gardner, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Hanley, formerly of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Criminal Division prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.