Two Baltimore City police officers were found guilty in federal court Friday of robbing suspects of drugs and money and splitting the cash proceeds.
A federal jury found William King and Antonio Murray, both 35, guilty of a combined 32 counts including conspiring to commit robbery and to distribute heroin, marijuana and cocaine, as well as guns charges.
“These corrupt police officers … betrayed the community and the many good, honest, hard-working police officers who risk their lives on the streets of Baltimore every day,” U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said in a prepared statement. “The jury’s resounding verdict makes clear that corruption will not be tolerated.”
The verdict comes after a three-week trial in which the government brought to the stand admitted drug addicts, formerconfidential informants and other police officers and relied on wiretaps to show that King and Murray violated departmental policy and broke the law.
Between August 2004 and May 2005, the jury found, King and Murray robbed drug addicts and street-level dealers of drugs, then turned what they seized back out onto the streets — giving or selling it to their confidential informants.
The defense never disputed some basics of the case: King and Murray admitted that they took drugs and money off suspects.
Rather than turning them in, they said, they sometimes paid their informants with what they seized.
But the case came down to whether their badges sanctioned — even unofficially — their tactics.
King and Murray said in court they were working complicated drug investigations, trying to crack the innermost rings of major drug distribution in the city. They said they were trained to do what was necessary to get the job done.
“Part of me is still in shock,” said Murray’s attorney, Russell Neverdon. He said the case hung to dry two detectives who were doing dangerous work using unofficially approved means.
“Although Baltimore City is not on trial, they should be,” he said.
Neverdon said the jury failed to understand Baltimore’s drug culture. They didn’t realize how heavily King and Murray relied on informants after the detectives were named in the infamous “Stop Snitching” DVD, and they could no longer work undercover, he said.
The men both face life in prison and millions of dollars in fines. Sentencing is scheduled for May 31.
