Federal prosecutors have won indictments against 147 suspects this year as part of Baltimore’s Project EXILE, a collaboration of local and federal law enforcement officers targeting gun criminals in the city.
The number of indictments — on pace for 220 this year — marks a noticeable increase from last year’s totals, when federal grand juries indicted 197 such defendants.
Those indictments, and the work of city police and prosecutors, have contributed to a decrease in violence in the city, said Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
“Most of you in Baltimore this weekend focused on the tragic murder of former Councilman Ken Harris,” Rosenstein said. “Every murder, such as that one, is a matter of a grave concern to us. One of the things we want to focus on is murders are becoming more and more rare. … The murder rate is down about 30 percent in 2008 here in Baltimore City and setting record lows on a regular basis for monthly homicide rate. That’s not a coincidence. That’s a reflection of the extraordinary work done on the front lines.”
Rosenstein said about 53 percent of the 147 indictments were referred from the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office FIVE Unit.
