ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office, Howard County Police Department, and Howard County Sheriff’s Office announced the indictment of several individuals from the “59 Hoover” criminal gang. Photos of the event can be found here.
On March 2, 2022, a Howard County grand jury indicted Jeremi Lewis, Anthony Jenkins, Daquan Woodson, Justin Harper, David Wainwright, Jr., Terrence Hux, Tavon Hawkins and Antonio Haywood on charges related to criminal gang activity including murder, attempted murder, robbery, assaults, weapons offenses, and felony drug distribution. All are in custody.
These individuals put our residents, our neighbors, friends, and families in danger. By collaborating on this investigation, our law enforcement agencies prevented potential future tragedies, and closed cases going back years. We are now one step closer to holding these suspects accountable and providing some closure on crimes that have disturbed our community going back a decade. In Howard County we remain focused on fostering a safe and engaged community, together. Because of the thorough and cooperative work of our team over the last several months, our residents will be safer.
These indictments come at the end of a lengthy investigation that began in late 2020 when police investigators recognized that many of the most serious crimes in Howard County could be linked to the same group of people. Detectives determined that many of these offenders were connected to one another and repeatedly committing crimes in various communities. The HCPD approached the State’s Attorney’s Office to form a partnership that would become known as the Violent Crimes Reduction Initiative, and then permanent Crime Reduction Teams, which culminated in these eight indictments.
“This particular organization has had a presence in Howard County for well over a decade,” said State’s Attorney Rich Gibson. “And thanks to our collaborative efforts with HCPD and HCSO, we are finally able to address their crimes at an organizational level and hold them accountable for violating our laws.”
According to the indictment, Jeremi Lewis, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the case of Jaden Ealy, had a leadership role in the criminal organization. The indictment further alleges that the criminal acts committed by members of the 59 Hoover set were designed to establish dominance and take control over territories in Columbia.
“This crime reduction strategy brought together detectives and officers from different parts of the agency, with different expertise,” said Police Chief Gregory Der. “In partnership with the state’s attorney’s office, the initiative focused specifically on criminal networks and street gangs that continued to disrupt our neighborhoods. We expect that taking these violent offenders off our streets will have a real impact in our communities.”
The indictment continues to allege that members of this Hoover criminal gang subset sold illegally controlled substances to help finance their organization and kept firearms in their possession to participate in violent crimes, protect themselves from retaliation and safeguard their drug trafficking activities.
“The Howard County Sheriff’s Office was able to swiftly apprehend all eight individuals with the assistance of the Howard County Police Department and the U.S. Marshal’s Capital Regional Task Force,” said Sheriff Marcus Harris. “This process is a great example of the outstanding teamwork that exists in Howard County.”
State’s Attorney Rich Gibson commended the Howard County Police Department, the Howard County Sheriff’s Office, County Executive Ball, Baltimore City Police Department, Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, Baltimore County Police Department, Anne Arundel County Police Department, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network, Maryland State Police, Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for their work in this investigation.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.