Baltimore Man Pleads Guilty to Racketeering and Drug Trafficking Conspiracies
In a shocking turn of events, Delante Lee, a/k/a ‘Tay Tay,’ age 22, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today in federal court to his participation in a racketeering conspiracy and drug trafficking conspiracy related to his involvement in the street gang Murdaland Mafia Piru, or MMP.
MMP, also known as the ‘Mob’ or ‘Mobsters,’ was a violent subset of the Bloods gang that operated in Maryland and elsewhere beginning in or about 2011. It was modeled after the Italian Mafia, and was organized hierarchically with a ‘Don’ at the top and various ‘Bosses,’ ‘Underbosses,’ ‘Capos,’ ‘Lieutenants,’ and ‘Mobsters’ underneath. For many years, MMP controlled the drug trade in large swaths of Northwest Baltimore City.
According to the plea agreement, Lee was an associate of MMP who agreed with members to conduct and participate in the gang’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity that included conspiracy to commit murder and offenses involving drug distribution.
Lee admitted that on April 14 and April 21, 2016, he distributed crack cocaine to a confidential informant working for law enforcement near the intersection of Liberty Heights Avenue and Gwynn Oak Avenue. In a recorded conversation on April 21, 2016, Lee said he was going to purchase ‘four and a half ounces’ of cocaine for $4,200 later that day. Lee also said he had raw heroin for sale at $90 per gram.
According to the plea agreement, on January 8, 2017, while a fugitive from justice in the case, Lee attempted to murder an individual because he lingered on MMP’s drug turf after being asked to leave. Lee chased the victim into oncoming traffic, firing multiple shots at him and striking him once in the arm. Shortly afterward, Lee shot himself as he was attempting to put away the gun. When medical personnel and law enforcement officers arrived on the scene, Lee refused to provide his name. In a search of his person, officers recovered a yellow-top vial of crack cocaine.
Lee faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on Counts One and Two and a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison on Count Two. The Honorable Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for November 2, 2017 at 9:15 a.m.
For more information, please contact ELIZABETH MORSE at (410) 209-4811 or visit www.justice.gov/usao/md.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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