A veteran of the Baltimore Police Department for 16 years was arrested for allegedly distributing drugs and selling ghost guns to a motorcycle gang in Maryland.
The 41-year old Steven Umberto Angelini is facing charges for illegal possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug tracking crime and conspiracy and distribution of oxycodone.
Early January, the suspect reportedly started trading and selling illegal drugs to the Maryland Infamous Ryders Motorcycle Club president. According to a criminal complaint, it started after drug supplier they both knew was murdered.
The complaint based on the text messaged between the pair revealed that the suspect agreed to give 90 oxycodone pills in exchange for $100 and an eighth of an ounce of cocaine on January 6.
The suspect was also accused of offering the head of the motorcycle gang to buy more drugs and give him further information about the former drug dealer’s murder.
In a text message sent by Angelini on January 14, he told the suspect, “hey bro got the video on my drive. Can I meet u later and give u that and buy another ball from you[?]”
After that, Angelini was then accused of making a deal to trade a ghost gun that he claimed he built for cocaine and cash in April. Prior to the transaction, early this year the Biden administration started cracking down homemade firearms that can be built from parts.
On Wednesday, the 16-year veteran was brought into custody and is now being held for a detention hearing on Thursday.
According to the Baltimore Police Department, Angelini’s arrest, he already had his policing powers suspended.
“Officer Angelini had his police powers suspended since August, 2020, for a separate investigation and after his arrest today, he has been suspended without pay,” Lindsey Eldridge, a spokesperson for Baltimore police said in a statement.
In April, a national statistics on ghost guns
The Justice Department released its own national statistics on ghost guns and revealed that more than 45,099 “privately made firearms” or PMFs have been recovered since 2016 and are known among law enforcement.
Moreover, 692 guns of those reported are linked to murder or attempted homicide investigations.
It also shows that ghost gun recoveries reportedly spiked by over 90 percent last year and by 1,000 percent over the last five years.
