Former head of rogue Baltimore police unit sentenced to 25 years in prison

A former Baltimore police officer was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for leading a corrupt unit that stole cash, planted drugs and robbed houses.

Sgt. Wayne Earl Jenkins, 37, the former leader of the Gun Trace Task Force Unit in Baltimore, was sentenced by a federal judge in Maryland, The Associated Press reported.

Jenkins pleaded guilty to a list of crimes including racketeering, robbery and falsifying records.

He reportedly admitted to giving stolen drugs away that were resold by someone else, allowing both men to profit.

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Jenkins, whose voice was caked with emotion while he addressed the court, also apologized to Umar Burley, who crashed during a pursuit and killed 86-year-old Elbert Davis Sr.

AP reported that heroin was planted at Burley’s car after the crash and Jenkins admitted to knowing about it.

“From the bottom of my heart, I wish I could take that day back and not have stopped that vehicle,” Jenkins said.

U.S. prosecutor Leo Wise accused Jenkins of running his police units like a “criminal gang.”

His task force reportedly robbed hundreds of thousand of dollars by collecting cash and drugs from people he detained.

Jenkins also wrote false reports to cover up the fact that members of his task force had broken into homes, committed robberies, stolen cash and faked overtime reports.

He is the second person from the now-disbanded task force to be sentenced after a federal investigation brought down the rogue squad, the AP reported.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake said Jenkins was “putting poison” into the community he was supposed to protect.