Maryland
Lawsuit claims ‘gang of white officers’ controls a Maryland prison – WTOP News
![Lawsuit claims ‘gang of white officers’ controls a Maryland prison – WTOP News](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GettyImages-162299487-e1678529924729.jpg)
A group of five Black correctional officers at a Hagerstown, Maryland, prison says white officers are controlling the facility with a race-based “gang.”
A group of five Black correctional officers at a Hagerstown, Maryland, prison says white officers are controlling the facility with a race-based “gang.”
They are accusing the “gang” of officers of discrimination, retaliation and fraud, adding that they have also created a hostile work environment.
“This is a small group of people who have exercised a lot of control, to do a lot of people harm,” said the plaintiffs’ co-counsel Thomas Eiler.
The lawsuit is relying on the statute used in the prosecution of organized crime in a federal lawsuit.
The federal class action lawsuit is being heard in Greenbelt District Court. The lawsuit names the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the warden, security chief of the Maryland Correctional Training Center, two other prison employees and 25 “John Does.”
“This prison had not had very many Black officers until the last few years,” said co-counsel Edith Thomas. “And when our clients were hired, there was a lot of animosity — and there still is a lot of animosity toward them.”
The suit says the defendants engaged in “shocking racial discrimination and egregious harassment” of officers based on their race and ethnic background. They are also accused of creating a “toxic environment where racial slurs and discrimination against persons of color, especially Black officers and African immigrants, occurs not only with impunity, but is encouraged and coordinated by a gang of white officers.”
In a statement to WTOP, the state prison said:
“The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services is aware of the complaints alleged in this suit and is investigating the serious claims. The Department cannot comment further on pending litigation at this time.”
According to the suit, in addition to enduring racial taunts and slurs, which included messages that the Black officers were not wanted at the site and to “Go back to your country,” they were denied opportunities to work overtime.
In its Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act claim, the suit alleges that the white officers engaged in criminal activity, including witness tampering and wire fraud.
“We’ve alleged that there’s a smuggling operation going on as well,” with drugs and other contraband being brought into the prison by the white officers, said Eiler. “Our intent is to prosecute a criminal organization that has been operating within the Maryland correctional system.”
The employment discrimination case was initially filed in Baltimore Circuit Court in October 2023, but it was immediately transferred to federal court at the request of the state’s corrections department.
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Maryland
Maryland grandfather-to-be, 40, dies after fight with neighbor over his dogs running into their yard: ‘He did not deserve that’
![Maryland grandfather-to-be, 40, dies after fight with neighbor over his dogs running into their yard: ‘He did not deserve that’](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/newspress-collage-pyv1cwylw-1720069587328.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1720055256&w=1024)
A Maryland soon-to-be grandfather died after he was struck in the back of the head when he tried to apologize to his neighbors over his dogs running into their backyard, his heartbroken family claimed.
Marvin Guevara’s dogs escaped his Boyd home through a hole in his fence onto his neighbor’s property on June 14, according to the Montgomery County Police Department.
Guevara, 40, then went to his neighbor’s house to retrieve the dogs and apologize for the inconvenience, his daughter-in-law, Flor Flores, told News4.
The family man had gotten into a “verbal argument” with an unidentified female at the property over his dogs running loose in the neighborhood when things took a violent turn.
Investigators found that the female hit Guevara in the head during the altercation, and he needed to be transported to an area hospital.
A video of the altercation taken by Flores shows the female and an unidentified male arguing with Guevara before the fists started flying, according to News4.
Flores claims that before she started filming, the female neighbor hit her father-in-law in the back of the head.
“She went then and like slapped him on the side of his face and she wanted to hit him again,” Flores told the outlet. “But this is when I grabbed my phone and I recorded. He did not deserve that.”
Two weeks later, on June 30, the beloved community member would be pronounced dead.
Guevara’s body is undergoing an autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore to determine his cause of death.
The county’s Major Crimes Division is also investigating his cause of death.
Guevara’s neighbors — who have not yet been charged with any crime — told the outlet that the soon-to-be grandfather was trespassing on their property but refused to elaborate further.
The two homes in Boyds are about five miles outside Germantown, Md.
While the family waits for answers on how their loved one died, they’re outraged that the situation ever resorted to violence.
“This is just something that didn’t have to happen over some dogs,” Flores told the outlet. “We just want peace from everything. We just want things to get done right.”
Guevara was an active member of his church and was known for his kindness and generosity, his family devastated family told the outlet.
His heartbroken daughter-in-law said what hurts the most is that his first grandchild — a granddaughter who is due next month — will never get to meet her grandfather.
“I was like, ‘You’re going to teach her how to walk,’” Flores said.
“And he said, ‘I’m going to teach her how to ride a horse.’”
Maryland
Heat, muggy and storms in Maryland for Fourth of July
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Maryland
Suspect attempts to return stolen merchandise for cash refund at Maryland grocery store
![Suspect attempts to return stolen merchandise for cash refund at Maryland grocery store](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox5dc.com/www.fox5dc.com/content/uploads/2024/07/1280/720/Susepct-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
BETHESDA, Md. – Surveillance photos have been released of a suspect who entered a grocery store and attempted to return stolen merchandise to receive a cash refund.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police are investigating a strong-arm robbery that occurred on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, inside the Giant Food grocery store in the 7100 block of Arlington Road in Bethesda.
Officers responded to the above location for the report of a robbery around 11:30 a.m.
According to police, the suspect entered the store and attempted to return stolen merchandise to receive a cash refund. When his attempt was unsuccessful, the suspect punched an employee in the face, snatched an undisclosed amount of money from another employee and left the scene.
The suspect is described as a Black male, between thirty and forty years old, approximately 5-feet, 10-inches tall, 200 lbs, with a beard, heavy set, wearing a black baseball cap, a white t-shirt, blue jean shorts, black sneakers and a black backpack.
Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact police.
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