Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Kenneth Wayne Hart, a/k/a Redds, Wayne Hawkins, Hawk, Big Daddy, Billy Reds, and Bill Red Hart, age 59, of Beltsville, Maryland, yesterday to 25 years in federal prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotics; a sex trafficking conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; and witness tampering.  Hart was convicted of those charges on March 12, 2020, after a seven-day jury trial.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

“As this case demonstrates, sex trafficking is a cruel business—often using violence and threats to control victims,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Working to end human trafficking is a priority for the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and we are proud to be one of the founding members of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, which brings together law enforcement, victim service providers and survivor advocates to help human trafficking victims and bring the traffickers to justice.”

According to the evidence presented at his seven-day trial, beginning in December 2016 and continuing until April 2017, Hart conspired with a co-conspirator to run a prostitution business using force, threats, fraud, and coercion to cause women to engage in commercial sex acts.  Hart and his co-conspirator also distributed narcotics, including to the women he recruited to work in the prostitution business.  The evidence proved that Hart recruited women to engage in commercial sex acts in Maryland and Washington, D.C.  Hart transported, photographed, and advertised the victims for commercial sex on websites set up for that purpose.  According to trial testimony, Hart also supplied the victims with heroin and crack cocaine on a daily basis and threatened to withhold—and did withhold—the narcotics if the victims displayed any sign of disobedience or tried to leave the locations where the commercial sex acts occurred.  According to trial evidence, in order to maintain control over the women he recruited to prostitute, Hart demanded that the women surrender to him their personal belongings, including identification cards, credit cards, cash, clothing, and cellular phones, and confiscated their earnings from the commercial sex acts.  As detailed in trial testimony, Hart installed a padlock on the bedroom door of a condominium Hart used for the prostitution business, and locked the victims in the room for hours or days at a time, using a daily combination of heroin and crack cocaine to control and coerce the victims.  Hart also used physical force, threatened physical force, and verbally abused the victims to force them to engage in prostitution against their will.  Even if the door to the bedroom was left open, the victims feared leaving the room and the condominium because they believed that Hart would find them no matter where they went, and that Hart would punish them for trying to leave him.

The jury also found that the evidence proved that Hart used physical force and threatened physical force to prevent an individual from communicating to a law enforcement officer information related to the commission or possible commission of a federal offense.

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.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

The sex trafficking charges were investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), created in 2010 to combat child prostitution, with members from10 state and federal law enforcement agencies.  The Task Force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution.

MCETF partners with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders.  Members include federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members.  For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/priorities_human.html.

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Jesus Chaidez-Meza, age 40, residing in Baltimore, to 12 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.  Chaidez-Meza, a Mexican national, is a permanent legal resident of the United States. He was convicted after a Five-Day Trial; Distributed Almost 250 Kilograms of Cocaine in Less Than Four Months

The sentence was 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 Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

“Drug dealing on the scale practiced by the Sinaloa cartel members in Baltimore fuels the violence that plagues the City,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “The Mexican Sinaloa cartel is one of the most dangerous international drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime syndicates threatening Americans today.  By funneling wholesale quantities of drugs into the United States, the Sinaloa cartel drives up fatal overdoses and the gun violence in our streets that comes with the drug trade.  We will continue to root out and bring to justice drug traffickers who bring deadly drugs to our neighborhoods and profit from the scourge of addiction.”

“The existence and influence of Mexican Drug Cartels in the city of Baltimore was well established through this investigation,” stated DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene.  “These relationships only further compound the challenges we already face in this city.  With our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we will endeavor to dismantle any organization that seeks to establish drug distribution networks in the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. “

According to evidence presented at his five-day trial, Chaidez-Meza was recruited and sent to Baltimore during the summer of 2016 to oversee drug distribution operations conducted by the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.  His ability to lease premises and purchase vehicles for use in the drug operations made him well suited for spearheading this particular Sinaloa cell.  He maintained a presence in the Baltimore area through the Spring of 2017, when two large money seizures by DEA agents and task force officers resulted in the cell changing personnel.

Testimony at trial showed that the Sinaloa cartel has been distributing large quantities of cocaine in the Baltimore area for years.  The cartel uses various “cells” to accomplish its drug distribution, with truck drivers transporting drugs to the east coast and millions of dollars in drug proceeds to the west coast.  Chaidez-Meza helped to manage the cell in Baltimore.  Cartel members provided funds to Chaidez-Meza to purchase a car and to rent an apartment from which he conducted the illegal cartel business.  According to trial evidence, Chaidez-Meza worked with another individual, known only as Chu-Chi.  Chu-Chi was responsible for the distribution of cocaine to local customers and Chaidez-Meza was responsible for the collection of the proceeds of the sales.

Witnesses testified that from September through December 2016, trucks arrived monthly with loads of 60-70 kilograms of cocaine.  The driver then transported money back to California, where it was unloaded, and ultimately sent to Mexico.  In December 2016, the driver arrived in Baltimore without drugs.  On December 11, 2016, Chaidez-Meza and Chu-Chi delivered bags of money to the driver, which the driver packed in a hidden compartment in the tractor portion of the truck, and began driving west.  Law enforcement officers stopped the truck just outside Hagerstown, Maryland and recovered $1.2 million from the hidden compartment, representing the proceeds from the sale of approximately 35 kilograms of cocaine.

According to trial evidence, shortly after the seizure, Chaidez-Meza returned to Mexico, but resurfaced in Baltimore in the Spring of 2017, when he terminated the lease on his apartment and sold the car he had purchased, in an effort to cover his tracks and liquidate any remaining assets.

The evidence proved that over the course of the conspiracy, Chaidez-Meza was responsible for the distribution of almost 250 kilograms of cocaine and the collection of millions of dollars in drug proceeds.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the DEA in Baltimore and Los Angeles, California and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James G. Warwick and Jeffrey J. Izant, who prosecuted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

Defendant Identified by Law Enforcement as a Member of the Boogaloo Movement

The arrest was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division.

According to the criminal complaint and court documents, a search warrant was executed at Perry’s residence, which he shares with his girlfriend.  Agents recovered from the bedroom: a black tactical vest containing two ballistic plates on the interior of the vest; two loaded rifle magazines located in pouches affixed to the exterior of the vest; a third loaded rifle magazine located on top of the vest; an AM-15 rifle which was partially concealed behind a nightstand; eight rounds of .223-caliber ammunition located in the nightstand; and other firearms-related accessories.

As detailed in the criminal complaint, Perry’s girlfriend was in the home at the time of the search and agreed to speak with agents.  She advised that she had purchased the AM-15 lower receiver in April at the suggestion of Perry, who said that she needed the weapon for self-defense.  She told agents that she learned Perry was obtaining firearms parts and shipping them to the residence in her name, and law enforcement found that the items were purchased using Perry’s credit card.  In addition, Perry’s girlfriend stated that she had not been involved in building the rifle—that was done by Perry and a neighbor.  Perry was arrested while he was en route to the residence.

According to court documents, Perry is prohibited from possessing firearms and/or ammunition as a result of a previous felony conviction.  Investigation revealed that while the firearm is registered to Perry’s girlfriend, a review of her social media indicates no apparent interest or involvement with firearms, hunting, the Second Amendment, or the Boogaloo Movement, nor was there any record of Perry’s girlfriend ever having a hunting license, or any other firearms registered in her name.  In contrast, as detailed in the court documents, Perry’s social media reflects a substantial interest in firearms and militia extremist activities.

If convicted, Perry faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  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.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes the ATF, for their work in the investigation and thanked the Baltimore County Police Department for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen O. Gavin and P. Michael Cunningham, who are prosecuting the case.