Two Associates of Monument Street Drug Trafficking Organizations in East Baltimore Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Distribution Charges

One Defendant Agrees to Sentence of Ten Years in Federal Prison; Law Enforcement Seized Kilo Quantities of Drugs, Guns, and More Than $30,000 in Drug Proceeds

Baltimore, Maryland – Delshawn Harvey, age 41, and Keizye Collins, age 23, both of Baltimore Maryland, pleaded guilty on July 21, 2020, to federal drug distribution charges related to their participation in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and/or fentanyl in the Monument Street area of East Baltimore.  U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced co-defendant, Christopher Redd, age 35, of Baltimore, yesterday to three years in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy.

The guilty pleas and sentence were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

“The Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force is a critical part of our strategy to make Baltimore safer by identifying and focusing on those groups responsible for the most violent crime in our city,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “The Monument Street area is one of the first areas the Strike Force has targeted and we anticipate that Strike Force cases will make these neighborhoods safer for the law-abiding citizens that live there.”

According to their guilty pleas, in July of 2018, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Strike Force Group 1 began an investigation of the Monument Street corridor in East Baltimore, which is known to support a high volume of street-level drug distribution and acts of violence associated with the drug trafficking.  During the investigation, law enforcement identified multiple street-level drug trafficking “shops,” with the two most prominent located in the 400 block of North Montford Avenue at Jefferson Street (“the Montford DTO”) and in the 2400 block of East Monument Street at Port Street (the “Out the Mud,” or “OTM DTO”). 

As detailed in their plea agreements, Harvey supplied drugs to the Montford and OTM drug trafficking organizations, among others; Collins was a drug distributor for the OTM drug trafficking organization; and Redd was a wholesale drug customer of members of the conspiracy.  Law enforcement overheard the defendants discussing the distribution of drugs, including powder and crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl, among others.

Law enforcement executed search warrants at residences associated with Harvey and his co-conspirators in January and May 2019, recovering more than two kilos of cocaine; drug paraphernalia, including digital scales, packaging materials, and money counters; more than $34,000 in cash, believed to be drug proceeds; and two semi-automatic pistols and ammunition, which Harvey admitted he possessed in connection to his drug trafficking activities.  Harvey is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition as a result of a previous felony conviction.

Collins admitted that he distributed cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin to an undercover detective on at least four occasions, and provided the undercover detective his contact information for future drug transactions.  In addition, in July 2018, Collins handed out free samples of heroin, referred to as “testers,” including to an undercover detective. 

Throughout the course of their involvement, it was reasonably foreseeable to Harvey and Redd, and within the scope of the conspiracy that they or other members of the conspiracy would distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, as well as quantities of cocaine base, heroin, and fentanyl during the course of and in furtherance of the conspiracy.  It was reasonably foreseeable to Collins that he or other members of the conspiracy would distribute at least 400 grams of fentanyl, as well as quantities of cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin.

Collins faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the drug conspiracy and for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Harvey and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Harvey will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.  Judge Hollander has scheduled sentencing for Harvey and Collins on September 24, 2020. 

Of the 25 defendants indicted in this case, six—including Redd, Harvey, and Collins—have pleaded guilty.  The remaining defendants have trial dates in October 2020, or in January or May 2021.

This case was investigated as part of the Baltimore Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force, an initiative designed to combat violent crime in Baltimore.  The mission of the Baltimore OCDETF Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle the most violent gangs and drug trafficking organizations, and their financial infrastructure, in the Baltimore metropolitan area.  In addition to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, members of the Strike Force include the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, DEA, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA, the Maryland State Police, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, the Maryland National Guard, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and Anne Arundel County Police Departments, and the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the DEA and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys LaRai Everett and James T. Wallner, who are prosecuting the case.