Fourteen people are facing federal charges in an alleged drug operation that prosecutors say ran daily open-air markets in Baltimore’s Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood. The case involves allegations of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine-base sales stretching across more than seven months.
The federal indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on July 22 and unsealed Wednesday, according to Fox Baltimore, which carried reporting from The Baltimore Sun. Prosecutors allege the defendants conducted drug sales between December 15, 2025, and July 22, 2026.
The alleged markets operated in the 1800 blocks of North Carey Street and Woodyear Street, according to the indictment. In some instances, the accused allegedly sold drugs to confidential informants and undercover investigators, while nine of the men also face separate distribution charges.
Fourteen Defendants Named In Federal Indictment
The indictment names Luther Amos, Antoine Benjamin, Wendell Boykins Jr., Davon Brown, Zy’Quin Coleman, Xavier Cooper, Antonio Curtis, Walter Epps, Keith Fryson, James Keene, Antonio Mason, Miayon Medley, Gregory Alexander Partlow and Darien Whitaker. The filing presents the group as participants in a single alleged conspiracy, though it assigns additional distribution counts to only nine of the men.
The charges move the allegations into federal court, but an indictment is not a conviction. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, and the case will proceed through the federal court system.
Baltimore Open-Air Markets Have Drawn Federal Cases Before
The alleged setup is not unfamiliar territory for federal prosecutors in Baltimore. In a separate 2020 case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Maryland announced charges against five Baltimore men in a conspiracy involving alleged heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and crack-cocaine distribution.
That earlier prosecution is separate from the new Sandtown-Winchester indictment and does not establish any connection between the defendants. The latest case places another alleged neighborhood drug network under federal scrutiny while the court process begins.
