Assistant State's Attorney Recognized at Annual Anne Arundel County Police Awards Banquet

 Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Doud was recently recognized for her contributions to the Anne Arundel County Police Department’s Narcotics and Special Investigations Unit during the agency’s Annual Awards Banquet, Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess announced.  

“Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Doud is an asset not only to the State’s Attorney’s Office but to communities throughout the State of Maryland because of her role in the successful prosecution of criminal and drug cases,” said State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. “Recently, Ms. Doud served as a Special Assistant to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office and was an integral part in the dismantling of a major drug operation, the Brown Drug Trafficking Organization, which included crimes committed in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City. I would like to thank Attorney General Brian Frosh for spearheading the prosecution of this case in collaboration with the Anne Arundel County Police Department in working together to keep our streets safe.”

The gang’s leader, David Tico Brown, 45, and his close associate Michael Anthony Copeland, 42, entered a guilty plea to multiple offenses for their role in the Brown Drug Trafficking Organization. The gang engaged in the distribution of numerous controlled dangerous substances, including cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine and marijuana in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City. The leaders of the gang also engaged in sex trafficking of numerous women. The investigation was led by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and the Anne Arundel County Police Department. 

Brown pleaded guilty to the charges of gang leader, volume dealer, conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison with all but 28 years suspended, the first 5 years of which are to be served without the possibility of parole. Copeland pleaded guilty to participating in a criminal gang, volume dealer, conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison with all but 24 years suspended, the first 5 of which are to be served without the possibility of parole. 

The eight month investigation began in 2019 when Anne Arundel County police detectives learned of a large organization selling controlled dangerous substances out of a local hotel. The leader of the organization, David Brown, used hotel staff and his co-defendants to thwart efforts of law enforcement while keeping members of his organization stocked with illegal narcotics. Brown’s co-conspirators kept him so well insulated that he rarely left the hotel. Copeland often met with drug suppliers off-site and returned to the hotel to cook, package, and distribute the controlled substances. Other members of the organization traveled throughout Maryland and to other states to obtain the illegal narcotics that were later sold by the organization. Some members of the organization furthered the efforts of the gang by forcing women to engage in sex trafficking and encouraging those victims to provide CDS to their “dates.”

Upon the arrests of David Brown, Michael Copeland and other indicted members of the organization, detectives located and seized two assault rifles and seven handguns, as well as 502 grams of crack cocaine, 119 grams of powder cocaine, over 3000 grams of marijuana, over 200 grams of heroin/fentanyl, 38 grams of MDMA, 1,316 grams of methamphetamine, and 13 strips of suboxone in addition to $27,000 in cash.

“Brown and Copeland organized and led the distribution of large amounts of illegal and deadly drugs,” said Attorney General Frosh. “Their illegal activities stretched across multiple counties. In addition to the drug distribution, they trafficked women to further the efforts of the organization. As a result of the efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies, we shut this drug and human trafficking organization down.”

“This investigation was a collaborative effort with our Federal, State and local partners, and I am grateful for the outstanding work of our detectives who assisted in breaking up this drug distribution and sex trafficking organization,” said Anne Arundel County Police Chief Amal E. Awad. “These types of investigations take a significant amount of time, and our community is safer as a result of the work conducted in this case.”

“Governor Larry Hogan launched the Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network to take back our streets and disrupt violent gangs like the Brown Drug Trafficking organization,” said Glenn Fueston, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth and Victim Services. “Our dedicated law enforcement partners are doing exceptional work to deter these dangerous criminals, stop illegal drug flow into our state, and take illegal weapons off of our streets for a safer Maryland.”