I never heard back, and he didn't seem to be responding to anyone else, either. This kind of mindset assumes that the victims of the Gun Trace Task Force - many of them black and poor - deserved what happened to them. It was nicknamed The Barn an apparent homage to the offices of a corrupt police unit on the television series The Shield. The show, modeled after a 1990s Los Angeles Police Department scandal, featured a strike team that roughed up suspects, lied about their investigations and took a cut of their drug busts. He says something that I've never heard anyone admit out loud. The drop-offs included marijuana, cocaine and MDMA, all of which Stepp did his best to sell. The unit began looking into a case involving Jenkins, in which he had run down a young man with his unmarked Dodge Avenger early in 2014. Jenkins was given a 25-year prison sentence on June 7, 2018, which he is currently in the midst of serving at a federal prison in Kentucky. He walked into the court wearing a maroon prison uniform. While researching the We Own This City true story, we confirmed that the real Wayne Jenkins had spent three years in the Marines before joining the Baltimore Police Department in 2003. BALTIMORE, MD A Baltimore police sergeant has admitted to robbing citizens, selling stolen drugs and putting innocent men behind bars, among other offenses. Jenkins pleaded guilty in January and admitted taking part in at least 10 robberies of Baltimore citizens, planting drugs on innocent people and re-selling drugs he stole from suspects on an almost daily basis, including heroin, cocaine and prescription painkillers. Jenkins got a bronze star for his part in the 2009 recovery of 41 kilograms of cocaine $1 million worth in a mans truck. Wayne Jenkins' police vehicle when he was arrested in 2017. "If you've got to lie about what you've seen or what you heard or what you witnessed, as long as he's dirty, he's got the drugs and he's got the guns and he did the crime - just get him.". Outside on the sidewalk, he saw a bunch of cops and yelled an expletive at one he knew who happened to be Jenkins supervisor. I continued working on this story for as long as I did out of some hope that the more the public learned about the corruption in the police department, the better chance there might be of some kind of true, systemic reform. His punches came fast Jenkins was a trained boxer and OConnor soon felt the warmth of blood spilling down his cheek. He had been stationed in North Carolina and would frequently make trips home to visit his family and his high school sweetheart Kristy, the . Wayne Jenkins, Gun Trace Task Force officer, The woods of Powder Mill Park, where Det. "Especially because we're short on time, is there anything that you kind of want to just say right off the bat?" Jenkins pleaded guilty in January and admitted taking part in at least 10 robberies of Baltimore citizens, planting drugs on innocent people and re-selling drugs he stole from suspects on an. Wayne Jenkins was living a double life. To single him out as a flawed individual in an otherwise perfectly functioning system is a way to avoid change in the police department, to shirk the responsibility of actually preventing this from happening again. A lot of what he told me was much more systematic. In court, Ward apologised to the victims, to his family and to the Baltimore Police Department, as well as to his co-defendants. He's even got a clothing line coming out around his defunct bail bond business, Double D Bail Bonds. Its a Viking mentality: You go out into the field among the bad guys, and you bring back a bounty, Davis said. As Jenkins is telling me this, he is naming names. Jenkins, meanwhile, was the best officer I had working under my command, Fries said. Over the course of four phone calls (courtesy of some traded bags of crisps), Jenkins paints a picture of the Baltimore Police Department as a place where indoctrination into corruption starts almost immediately. Jenkins' lawyer mentioned that he has been assaulted at least once by another inmate who was targeting him for being a former police officer. He's opening a consulting service called Stepp Right Consultants, to give guidance and insight to men and women who are about to enter the federal penal system. Command created the monster, she said, and allowed it to go unchecked.. Weeks later, I search these locations myself to see if I can find anything. Simon's new project will tell a fictionalised version of the Gun Trace Task Force saga, and began filming on the streets of Baltimore over the summer. Here is everything you need to know about the real Jenkins and where he is now. Read about our approach to external linking. But when the officers exited the elevators on the building's second floor, they were met by an FBI SWAT team. He and other officers had raided a car wash, recovering more than a kilogram of drugs and $4,000 from a hidden desk compartment which could be opened only using magnets within a fish tank. On 1 March, 2017, Sergeant Wayne Jenkins and six of his subordinate officers from the Gun Trace Task Force walked into the Baltimore Police Department's Internal Affairs building, believing they were there to clear up a minor complaint about a damaged vehicle. "I deserve to be punished. But they needed more information. Stepp and Jenkins' history runs deep. They are not typically tethered to specific posts, or burdened by responding to 911 calls. In November 2012, Wayne Jenkins was promoted to the rank of sergeant giving him new authority and freedom. In 2010, when Deputy Commissioner Anthony Barksdale wanted a special squad to go after elusive suspects, Jenkins was picked for the group. You guys willing to go kick in the dudes door and take the money? Jenkins said. The line goes dead, and I feel like I've barely gotten anywhere. Wayne Jenkins will be played by Jon Bernthal, the same actor who portrayed "The Punisher". Then they spilled out of the house and onto the sidewalk, struggling. They didnt call for an ambulance or even write a report. Prosecutors urged the judge to sentence him to the maximum 30 years, adding that the unit's corruption affected 1,700 criminal cases. 49 . I have no idea what he wants to say, or why after four years, he's breaking his silence. You will not be charged for this call. "I'd rather be a prosecutor so I don't overkill people. Sure enough, no report was ever made. View all articles on the Gun Trace Task Force on The Baltimore Sun. For the most part, these defendants decided it wasnt in their interest to tell government authorities that. In January, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh fired her police commissioner and replaced him with former Deputy Commissioner Darryl De Sousa, who promised sweeping reforms to the department. I have to try to untangle his answers as he moves from subject to subject, sometimes so fast I can't keep up. You didnt catch me in nothing.. Hill could not be reached by The Sun for comment. They urged his supervisors to get him back to work and focused, according to an internal police department investigation conducted after the indictments. Jenkins joined Baltimore's police department in 2003, first becoming a beat cop and patrolling the streets of Baltimore. I did give drugs to Donny for the last couple of years I was police, but I didn't take people's money because then they would know you were dirty. Had the officers done things by the book, the cash and drugs would be registered with evidence control. In fact, Fries went on to promote Jenkins in June 2006 into a high-profile plainclothes unit called the Organized Crime Division. Last month, Mr De Sousa was indicted for failure to pay his taxes by the same prosecutors who brought the GTTF case. At the time, Stepp was running his own bail bond company, Double D Bail Bonds. Plenty of times he's gone behind me and found them.. Later, Jenkins did more than talk about such a theft. Homegrown commanders took pride in being known as having knockers. But two pronounced their innocence and went to trial, which I covered for the BBC. The jury was shown axes, machetes and pry bars, as well as black masks that were found in Jenkins' van after his arrest. But he says he was also struggling with a gambling addiction and dealing large amounts of cocaine. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. As backup arrived, Jenkins spotted a man named George Sneed across the street. I ask this friend why he didn't say anything to anyone. Jenkins later alleged in official paperwork that Simon had pointed a weapon at Frieman and that he ran Simon down to stop the threat. "It ain't over. Jenkins said: "I never had [theft complaints] because I never took money off individuals. "I'm grateful, very grateful.". His earliest admitted theft was in 2011. It was during these games that Stepp heard Jenkins boasting about the large drug stashes he often came across during his work as a plainclothes police officer. Fenton joined The Sun as a suburban reporter in 2005. However, he was also sued for misconduct before his arrest in 2017. His promotion required him to return to uniformed patrol for a time, and he was assigned to the Northeastern District. Jon Bernthal embedded with Baltimore police to play city's dirtiest cop in HBO's "We Own This City" On "Salon Talks" Bernthal reveals he spoke to the real Sgt. Baltimore leaders have agreed to pay a $6 million settlement to the family of a driver who was killed during a 2010 police chase involving Gun Trace Task Force officers. After outlining this, Ward said, Jenkins reconsidered. "Pills of heroin, bags of marijuana," he says. We Own This City, an HBO Max miniseries out April 25, about a Baltimore Police Department (BPD) task force unit that went rogue, highlights some of the . Another was to talk about how futile life inside the penal system is. "We said, 'You know, he's robbin' the pieces of shit of Baltimore that are the reason that me and my kids can't walk down the street and feel safe," he says. On June 7, 2018, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Stepp says Jenkins started bringing over shipments of drugs on an almost daily basis, putting them in a locked shed behind Stepp's house. He is serving the harshest sentence : 25 years . Their work is not to be confused with undercover operations, in which police officers assume a different identity and worm their way into a criminal organization. Jenkins was a rising star in the department, because of his ability to regularly bring in huge seizures of drugs and guns. Victims like Bumgardner and Whiting had the courage to speak out. They said that while they had their backs turned, someone had clocked OConnor and taken off. Both men have requested new trials. Not likely, Ward thought. It was in 2007 that Jenkins became a part of the GTTF, a new unit of plain-clothed officers focused on targeting suspected criminals believed to have big supplies of guns and drugs, in a bid to reduce the city's high murder rate. His drill sergeant described him as having the utmost flawless character Ive seen in two decades of service. Many plainclothes units would work out of a satellite office inside a trailer in Northwest Baltimore. 2023 BBC. I'm losing a lot of teeth, you know, they used to be nice and pretty.". And in the midst of that investigation, another arose. Sneed's attorney Michael Pulver concluded, per Fenton, that the officers had "fabricated this story to hide the fact that they intentionally assaulted and falsely arrested and imprisoned Mr. In January 2018, a long list of victims took the stand - many of whom had ties to the drug trade - and told harrowing stories of how they were robbed by the officers during car stops and searches of their homes. Wayne Jenkins is the leader of the rogue police unit in Baltimore who was sentenced to 25 years of prison in a corruption scandal prosecutors called "breathtaking". I will continue to fight to prove my innocence.". "I knew the things we were doing were wrong," he said. Four years after the Gun Trace Task Force officers were arrested, he says he sees no difference on the streets of Baltimore. They direct their work, approve overtime pay and provide reports to higher-ranking supervisors. After three weeks of astonishing testimony, the jury found the two remaining officers guilty. Former Baltimore Police Department Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, currently inmate number 62928-037 at a federal prison in Kentucky, is on the line. When his case went to trial on January 5, 2018 Jenkins pled guilty to one count of racketeering, two counts of robbery, one count of destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation, and four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. In February 2017, Jenkins was charged with two counts of racketeering conspiracy; racketeering, aiding and abetting; racketeering; two counts of robbery and aiding and abetting; and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. I've been reporting on Jenkins, and the elite Gun Trace Task Force squad he once led, for nearly four years. Instead, while their cash and drugs were gone, the dealers were free men. Wayne Jenkins, who led . He says he was told that because these officers were so successful at seizing guns, there was nothing to be done. He's doing, as he likes to say, "rather swell". If I could take everything back in my life, I would have been a prosecutor," he says. They drive unmarked vehicles. They also didnt give chase. "Wayne is truly sorry for his actions. Prosecutors investigated and even presented evidence to a grand jury but concluded they didnt have enough evidence to obtain an indictment. Justin Fenton takes listeners inside the investigation on the Roughly Speaking podcast. He reviewed hours of body camera footage from their arrests, watched tapes of their courtroom appearances, reviewed several thousand pages of documents, including internal police department files, and interviewed dozens of people including two of the convicted officers, some of the gun unit's victims, other current and former Baltimore police officers and commanders, defense attorneys and prosecutors. So he gave up and entered a guilty plea. He started counting the money, $20,000 in all. Several of the former officers also took the stand - now wearing prison jumpsuits instead of uniforms - and detailed the tactics encouraged by their leader, Jenkins. He said he started dealing drugs at age 9, selling. He says he couldn't risk it as a father with a young family. In Baltimore, theyre often referred to as knockers, a reference to their historically aggressive tactics. By Justin Fenton June 12, 2019 More in the series Part 1 The rise of Wayne. 3.4M views, 20K likes, 1.4K loves, 6.8K comments, 52K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The Baltimore Sun: A criminal with a badge: A Baltimore Sun investigation into the story of Baltimore Police. "I swear, I wish I would have known before I ever put anyone in here I wish I would have known the other side," he says at one point. "And I remember taking the $10,000.". Read more: Inside one of America's most corrupt police squads. And Jenkins, whod been identified as a rising talent early in his career, was celebrated among department brass and rank and file officers as a leader with an uncanny knack for delivering the goods. What if one of the men who was robbed turned out to be a federal informant? You never know until you get on this side, including me, what you do to families.". Becoming Wayne Jenkins: Jon Bernthal's Deep Dive Into We Own This City 's Corrupt Cop For the HBO miniseries, the actor went on nightly ride-alongs and spoke at length with the imprisoned. The dealers would be sitting in a jail cell. Read about our approach to external linking. BALTIMORE One of the main players in the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force corruption scandal is asking for compassionate release from prison. Back then, Jenkins escaped scrutiny again. His fee will be donated to the victims of the Gun Trace Task Force. My thoughts return to Kenneth Bumgardner, a hard-working father who was chased by the squad when they suspected him of having marijuana. All seven now sit in federal prisons scattered across the country. Ignoring warning signs of misconduct, Baltimore Police praised and promoted Gun Trace Task Force leader. Of all seven men, the last person I thought would ever agree to an interview was Jenkins, the fallen "golden boy" of the Baltimore Police Department. The officers with him hesitated, Ward said. The two said Jenkins had found drugs in the ceiling of a mans vehicle. officers Wayne Jenkins, Ryan . I ask. He counters that the units helped bring down crime, and says he made it a point to scrutinize their conduct. He started to worry. In an incident to which Jenkins would later plead guilty, the officers handcuffed two men. I have so many questions to ask, and I'm not sure if this will be my one and only opportunity to speak to him. 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