Hersl & Taylor Convicted in Gun Trace Task Force Heist

Detective Daniel Thomas Hersl, 47, of Joppa, Maryland, and Detective Marcus Roosevelt Taylor, 30, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, were convicted on February 12, 2018, by a federal jury on charges of racketeering conspiracy, racketeering, and Hobbs Act robbery—crimes rooted in a systematic looting spree disguised as police work. The two officers, once members of Baltimore’s elite Gun Trace Task Force, stole cash, narcotics, and property from civilians—many of whom had committed no crime—all while filing false affidavits and falsifying reports to cover their tracks.

The three-week trial exposed a brazen criminal enterprise within one of the city’s most trusted units. Evidence revealed Hersl and Taylor conducted illegal detentions, executed unauthorized home entries, and staged traffic stops to rob victims of sums ranging from $200 to $200,000. In multiple cases, the money seized was legally earned. No warrants, no crimes—just badges used as weapons. The jury found they also stole narcotics and firearms from arrestees, often failing to file any official reports at all.

Count One of the indictment charged the pair with a racketeering conspiracy involving 14 acts of robbery and extortion committed in 2015 and 2016 while assigned to the Gun Trace Task Force. Count Two, the substantive racketeering charge, included those acts plus 16 additional robberies and extortions dating back to 2015—before their official placement on the task force. Counts Three and Five charged Hersl and Taylor individually with Hobbs Act Robbery and Extortion. They were acquitted on Counts Four and Six, which alleged possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The fallout extends beyond the two convicted detectives. Six co-defendants—Sergeant Thomas Allers, 49, of Linthicum Heights; Detective Momodu Bondeva Kenton Gondo, 36, of Owings Mills; Detective Evodio Calles Hendrix, 32, of Randallstown; Sergeant Wayne Earl Jenkins, 37, of Middle River; Detective Jemell Lamar Rayam, 37, of Owings Mills; and Detective Maurice Kilpatrick Ward, 37, of Middle River—have already pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges, signaling a full collapse of the unit once tasked with cleaning up Baltimore’s gun violence.

Each faces up to 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy, 20 years for racketeering, and 20 years for Hobbs Act robbery—stackable sentences that could bury both men behind bars for decades. Sentencing dates have not yet been set. The convictions mark one of the most significant police corruption crackdowns in Baltimore’s history, a city long plagued by both violent crime and the officers sworn to stop it.

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning hailed the verdict as a win for accountability, crediting the FBI, DEA, Baltimore County Police Department, and Harford County Sheriff’s Office for their relentless investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Wise and Derek E. Hines led the prosecution, dismantling a culture of theft masked as law enforcement—one affidavit, one traffic stop, one lie at a time.