By Carrie Wells
The Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE, Md. — A federal grand jury indicted 18 alleged gang members on racketeering charges, including a detainee at a state-managed detention center, news that could draw more scrutiny to Maryland’s beleaguered correctional system.
Federal officials say the members of the Bloods, most of them operating out of Howard County, broke into houses, stole money and other items, and sold drugs, including oxycodone, ecstasy and marijuana.
Eighteen Bloods members were charged with racketeering, and three others not in the gang were charged with selling drugs, federal officials said.
The federal investigation began in February 2012 with a separate federal indictment of Michael Dominique Johnson, a 20-year-old Columbia man who authorities say ordered the robbery of a confidential informant a few months earlier.
Investigators began monitoring Johnson’s communications from jail, leading to the racketeering and drug conspiracy charges against the others.
Full story: Inmate, 17 other alleged Bloods indicted on racketeering charges