FBI raids Belair-Edison Safe Streets location over possible gang affiliation: sources

everal Federal Bureau of Investigation agents executed a search warrant at the Belair Edison Safe Streets location Thursday morning, along with the homes of two Safe Streets employees.

The raid, which took place in the morning sometime before 10 a.m. according to neighbors who saw the FBI agents at the location. While the FBI is staying tight-lipped about the scope of the probe, sources close to the investigation tell FOX45 News federal agents are looking at possible connections with the Black Guerilla Family gang, or BGF.

Safe Streets is Baltimore City’s flagship gun violence prevention program, according to Mayor Brandon Scott. There are 10 different locations across the city and the employees, dubbed violence interrupters, work in a small, set zone. The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, or MONSE, oversees the implementation of the program, though the day-to-day operations are overseen by two nonprofits: Catholic Charities and LifeBridge Health.

ifeBridge Health manages the Belair Edison Safe Streets site where the FBI executed the search warrant on Thursday and in a statement to FOX45 News, acknowledge the search warrant executed at the Safe Streets site, along with the homes of two employees.

“We have no other information at this time,” said Sharon Boston, Director of Public Relations for LifeBridge Health. “We are treating this incident seriously and complying with requests from the authorities.”

It’s unclear what requests have been made by federal investigators. LifeBridge Health would also not provide the names of the employees possibly involved in the investigation.

In response to the raid, MONSE pledged to hold anyone accountable found responsible for wrongdoing.

“Any malfeasance of anyone involved in this activity does not and should not diminish the work that Safe Streets Baltimore staff do on a daily basis – putting themselves in harm’s way to mediate conflicts before they escalate into incidents of gun violence,” MONSE wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

FOX45 News has been investigating Safe Streets for two years, demanding answers and accountability from the Scott Administration about how tax dollars are being spent and how the program is being monitored for effectiveness.

After the raid of the location, FOX45 News sent several questions to MONSE and Mayor Scott’s Office, asking:

How many current Safe Streets employees are breaking the law?
Are any other Safe Streets sites under federal investigation?
Is this latest black eye for the program enough for you to call for a pause in funding for and operations of Safe Streets?
Will you now release the names of all Safe Streets employees to the public?
A spokesperson for MONSE directed us back to the agency’s original statement, though that statement did not address any of the questions asked.
Mayor Scott also did not answer any of the questions but issued a statement to FOX45 News that also pledged accountability for anyone found responsible for wrongdoing.

“As I’ve said from day one: I’ve given the directive that any and everyone should be held accountable for wrongdoing no matter who they are,” Mayor Scott said via statement. “We work with our federal partners every day and will continue to do so through this investigation.”

While details are scarce about the current federal probe, it wouldn’t be the first time Safe Streets has been linked to the BGF gang.

In 2018, a former Safe Streets employee pleaded guilty to federal charges including authorizing murders. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ricky Evans admitted to storing guns and drugs at the Safe Streets office along Monument Street in East Baltimore. Evans also admitted to holding BGF gang meetings at the Safe Streets site, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at the time.

Federal investigators said Evans was a high-ranking member of the BGF which is involved in criminal activity including murder, robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, and witness intimidation.

As detailed in Evans’ plea agreement, Evans operated a murder-for-hire scheme during the time of the conspiracy, accepting payments to have violence committed against individuals, then taking other BGF members to commit those acts.