BALTIMORE — Officers in marked police cars are a visible presence along North Avenue on one of the mean streets of West Baltimore, but it’s here in the shadows along a side street, North Carey Street, where it’s alleged ‘the Carey Boyz’ were dealing drugs and death.
“The joint effort in collaboration with the regional law enforcement agents resulted in criminal charges on eight members ranging from the ages of 19 to 59,” said Acting Baltimore Police Chief Rich Worley, “Seven of those members have previous arrests including narcotics, armed robbery violations as well as assault.”
In January, BPD’s Group Violence Unit launched an investigation into the group following extensive diversion efforts in Sandtown-Winchester to send traffickers down a different path.
“There is no joy in sending Black men to prison, and this group self-selected for focused enforcement attention, because of their continued involvement in violence,” said MONSE Executive Director Shantay Jackson.
During the five-month-long investigation, detectives seized two firearms, more than 1,100 vials of cocaine and 1,500 gel capsules tainted with fentanyl, but it didn’t stop there.
They obtained 11 search warrants for vehicles and homes in Cockeysville, Windsor Mill, Elkridge as well as Baltimore and hit pay dirt.
“Seven firearms, approximately a half kilo of suspected cocaine, approximately 890 grams of suspected cocaine, approximately 3,712 grams of suspected marijuana and over $200,000 in various denominations,” said Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates.
Statistics show three out of four murders in West Baltimore are tied to group violence, and police say this is one less group that could now contribute to that deadly equation.
