‘Godfather’ of deadly city gang sentenced to life in prison
The man prosecutors said fashioned himself as the “godfather” of a violent Northwest Baltimore gang was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after he was found guilty of racketeering charges, including committing and ordering multiple murders on behalf of the gang.
In a news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote that Dante Bailey, also known as “Gutta,” 40, of Baltimore, was sentenced to life in federal prison after he was convicted April 30 of racketeering charges for his role in the “Murdaland Mafia Piru” (MMP) gang that operated in Northwest Baltimore and parts of Baltimore County.
In an extensive indictment filed in 2017 against Bailey and a number of other defendants, prosecutors claimed that Bailey ran the gang as its “godfather,” setting up drug deals and sales, engaging in deadly shootouts and intimidating witnesses from 2011 to early 2016.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote that Bailey and others “operated street-level drug distribution shops in various locations in Northwest Baltimore City and neighboring Baltimore County, where they sold large volumes of heroin and crack cocaine.”
Prosecutors wrote that the gang — an offshoot of the Bloods gang that prosecutors wrote formed after 28 members of the Tree Top Piru faction of the Bloods were arrested in 2008 — was responsible for a number of murders in the city and killed some of its own members for not paying dues to the group or being disloyal.
Bailey himself “ordered and committed numerous murders in order to retaliate against rivals, impose discipline within the gang, and eliminated potential witnesses against the gang,” the office wrote. He was also found guilty of distributing heroin and crack cocaine in Northwest Baltimore.
According to the office, Bailey’s violent reign of terror spanned years. Between October 2012 and September 2017, the office wrote, Bailey ordered or committed five murders in the city and county, including one hit he sent out while awaiting trial.
An attorney for Bailey did not return calls for comment.
The office wrote that Bailey’s targets were varied, ranging from fellow gang members who exhibited “disloyalty” to the gang to rival gang members they suspected of killing their own.
According to prosecutors, Bailey went so far as to write “an autobiographical screenplay featuring the members of [the gang] and describing acts of violence similar to ones [gang] members are known to have carried out.”
In addition, the indictment reads that when Bailey was found on May17, 2016, with about 94 grams of heroin, he had “a handwritten note containing the [gang’s] oath and a list of disciplinary actions for ‘Level 1,’ ‘Level 2,’ and ‘Level 3’ violations.”
“Dante Bailey led the violent and destructive MMP gang that brought terror and death to Baltimore and Baltimore County neighborhoods with guns and drugs,” U.S. Attorney Robert Hur wrote in a statement. “Now, Dante Bailey will spend the rest of his life in federal prison, where there are no suspended sentences and no parole — ever.”
In addition to Bailey, fellow gang member Jamal Lockley, 40, of Baltimore, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after he was found guilty of racketeering and weapons charges. The office wrote that Lockley dealt drugs and tampered with witnesses on behalf of the gang.
An attorney for Lockley did not return calls for comment.