Baltimore Police Detective Caught in Web of Corruption
A Baltimore City Police detective has been embroiled in a racketeering conspiracy that has left citizens questioning the integrity of the force. Detective Jemell Lamar Rayam, 37, of Owings Mills, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to one count of racketeering conspiracy, including multiple robberies, and overtime fraud.
According to the plea agreement, Rayam schemed to steal money, property, and narcotics by detaining victims, entering residences, conducting traffic stops, and swearing out false search warrant affidavits. In addition, Rayam prepared and submitted false official incident and arrest reports, reports of property seized from arrestees, and charging documents. The false reports concealed the fact that Rayam and his co-conspirators had stolen money, property, and narcotics from individuals.
Rayam joined the Baltimore Police Department on July 12, 2005, and was later assigned to the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a division of the Baltimore Police Department. The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.
The crimes committed by Rayam and his co-conspirators included robbing civilians they detained and in some cases arrested, stealing money and drugs from them. Rayam shared the proceeds with co-defendants Momodu Gondo, Wayne Jenkins, Daniel Hersl, Marcus Taylor, and others, and on other occasions, he kept all of the proceeds for himself. Rayam also sold, through associates of his, drugs that Jenkins stole from detainees and arrestees, gave them to Rayam, and split the proceeds of those sales with his co-defendant.
Rayam admitted to participating in 15 robberies from June 2014 through October 2016. During these robberies, Rayam was armed with his BPD service firearm, and individual victims were physically restrained to facilitate the commission of the offense. In some cases, Rayam authored false and fraudulent incident reports and other official documents to conceal his criminal conduct and obstruct justice.
Rayam’s crimes continued even after his involvement with the GTTF. He robbed detainees and arrestees with another police officer, who was not a member of the GTTF. The two would falsely represent that they had a search warrant, when they did not, in order to gain access to someone’s home and then steal money and other things of value. Additionally, Rayam had an associate who would inform him when a drug dealer had a significant amount of cash in his home, and when the associate knew that the drug dealer would not be in the home, Rayam would then rob the drug dealer’s home with the assistance of other associates of his who were not police officers.
On October 5, 2016, Rayam and his co-conspirators robbed a drug dealer after they and Gondo placed a tracking device on the victim’s car without court authorization so that they could rob his apartment when he was not home. Rayam and Glen Kyle Wells entered the victim’s apartment, Rayam wearing a ski mask and armed with a BPD-issued firearm. They stole a Rolex watch, a firearm, $12,000 to $14,000 in cash, and at least 800 grams of heroin. After the robbery, Rayam and his co-conspirators split the money they had stolen. Wells took the drugs and money, and Wells sold some of the drugs and gave Rayam a portion of the proceeds. Wells then gave Rayam a quantity of drugs that he had been unable to sell, which Rayam in turn sold through an associate.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant: Jemell Lamar Rayam
Criminal Charges: Racketeering Conspiracy, including multiple robberies, and overtime fraud
City and State: Baltimore, Maryland
Exact Date: Not specified in the article
Sentence or Outcome: Not specified in the article
Dollar Amounts: $12,000 to $14,000 in cash, at least 800 grams of heroin
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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