BALTIMORE — A member of Baltimore's Safe Streets Program has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal drug distribution charges.
Ronald Alexander, 50, was last released from federal prison in May of 2018 after serving 240 months behind bars on previous drug convictions.
Prosecutors say the Safe Streets member was back at it again in May of this year, prompting DEA agents to tap his phone and track his van.
The investigation revealed Alexander operated a drug shop in the area of Spaulding and Palmer Avenues.
Along with Alexander, prosecutors also charged Mark Brinkley and Thomas Corey Crosby, both 51.
Crosby allegedly supplied drugs to Alexander, who in turn dispersed them to Brinkley and others.
On July 23 agents searched Brinkley’s Baltimore home.
Inside a bedroom safe, agents discovered grocery bags with 117 grams of fentanyl and 271 grams of cocaine, as well as a latex glove that had about 128 grams of heroin in it.
Agents also found an iPhone matching one of the numbers that popped up in the sting.
On August 9, Alexander and Crosby met at a BP gas station in Baltimore.
After he'd left, investigators followed and stopped Alexander's car.
A search uncovered 101 grams of suspected heroin in the center console. Alexander allegedly told agents he'd taken the drugs from someone in the community, while a member of Safe Streets.
Although agents recovered the drugs, Alexander was let go that day, as the undercover investigation continued.
It was the second time, he'd used his work for Safe Streets to try and get out of a police stop.
“Yeah. Police hopped on me. Told me to get off the phone. You know they scared, you know they scared of the Mayor Office, I said man I work for Safe Streets from the Mayor Office," Alexander said to an associate over the phone following one encounter with police. "I was just coming from one of my participant house, in need with this, it was in need of food due to the pandemic. He say oh, ok ok.”
On August 14, 2020, search warrants were executed at homes tied to Alexander in the 1200 block of North Augusta Avenue and in the unit block of North Culver Street.
Alexander was located at the Augusta location where agents seized a 9mm semi-automatic pistol and six cartridges of ammunition, a digital scale and drug packaging material, suspected cutting agents, and Safe Streets apparel.
On North Culver Street, investigators recovered 80 grams of a heroin and fentanyl mixture, more than 100 grams of powdered caffeine, and a digital scale.
Crosby has already been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit the $134,499 in cash, seized during a search of his home on August 14 of last year.
