Gang member admits to two homicides in plea deal

Member of Murdaland Mafia Piru awaits sentence

On Thanksgiving Day 2012, Dontray Johnson posted a comment to Facebook: “198 n risen.” It was an allusion, federal prosecutors say, to that year’s murder tally in Baltimore — which he had just increased by one.

Johnson, a member of a local Bloods subset called the Murdaland Mafia Piru, pleaded guilty in Baltimore district court Tuesday to racketeering and drug conspiracies. More than two dozen MMP members have been indicted on federal racketeering and other charges after an investigation.

Prosecutors say Johnson, also known as “Gambino,” “Bino” and “Tray,” killed two fellow members for violating rules of the gang.

While not convicted of murder, Johnson admitted in the plea agreement to shooting Antoine Ellis, known as “Poopy,” to death on Nov. 22, 2012, for showing disloyalty to the MMP.

Police said Ellis was shot multiple times in the head while standing on a baseball field in Franklintown.

Three years later, Johnson killed another MMP member, Brian Johnson, also known as “Nutty B,” after he refused to pay gang dues, he admitted in the plea agreement.

Witnesses told police Brian Johnson was standing near the bus stop in the 5200 block of Windsor Mill Road — where MMP ran one of its most profitable drug shops — when a gunman shot him. Police said he had his hands up.

The gang dominated the drug trade in much of Northwest Baltimore and parts of Baltimore County, according to prosecutors. Particularly profitable was the gang’s shop in the 5200 block of Windsor Mill Road, which was close to Interstate 70 and attracted customers driving in from Western Maryland and elsewhere.

A 2015 search of Johnson’s home in Owings Mills recovered 28 grams of heroin, 70 rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest and an “owe” sheet with a tally of money owed by MMP members.

If the plea deal is accepted, Johnson faces 30 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 16.