New charges filed against ‘Trained To Go’ members
Federal prisoners convicted in drugs and murder trial accused of assaulting guards
Three federal prisoners have been indicted on charges of assaulting U.S. marshals and other guards who escorted them to and from a federal racketeering trial in Baltimore.
John Harrison, 28; Taurus Tillman, 29; and Brandon Wilson, 24, were convicted in October of racketeering and drug crimes. Prosecutors said the three men and five co-defendants ran a murderous West Baltimore drug crew known as “Trained To Go.” All eight were convicted during a 24-day trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
As their trial proceeded, security measures increased. In a break from routine, the marshals began leaving Harrison handcuffed in the courtroom. Officials had declined to discuss reasons for the strict measures.
In the indictments unsealed Thursday, prosecutors allege the three men threw punches and elbows at the guards behind closed doors.
Harrison punched and elbowed one marshal while being escorted from the courtroom during a break in trial, prosecutors wrote in the indictment. Tillman tried to help Harrison, they wrote. He allegedly began “vigorously punching” another marshal in the head.
In a separate incident, Wilson allegedly beat two jailhouse guards. Federal prosecutors say he threw punches at the two corrections officers who were taking him to court.
Harrison, Tillman and Wilson were indicted on charges of assaulting the marshals. Each faces eight years in prison if convicted. Online court records did not list their defense attorneys.
“The brave men and women of the U.S. Marshals Service are critical to our justice system and we will not tolerate assaults on them,” U.S. Attorney for Maryland Robert Hur said in a statement.
The charges are the latest revelations in one of Baltimore’s most closely watched trials of 2018. City leaders had celebrated the convictions of the drug crew.
Federal prosecutors told jurors the “Trained To Go” crew — meaning “trained to kill” — was led by brothers Montana Barronette, 23, and Terrell Sivells, 27. Police had publicly named Barronette the city’s “No. 1 trigger puller.”
The jury found members of the gang murdered nine people, threatened witnesses and dealt large quantities of heroin — at least 1,000 grams — around the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood.
The eight men all face life in federal prison. They have not been scheduled for sentencing.