Baltimore man sentenced to life in prison in case tied to Murdaland Mafia Piru gang, murder of man near light rail tracks

A 28-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced to life in federal prison Tuesday on drug trafficking and firearms charges that led to the killing of another man, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.

A federal jury convicted Sydni Frazier on March 3, 2020, of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime resulting in death; conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin; possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl; and possession of firearms by a felon.

Frazier was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake.

Federal prosecutors argued that Frazier, also known as Sid, Little Boss and Perry, conspired from at least 2014 to 2017 with members and associates of the “Murdaland Mafia Piru” gang to distribute narcotics. Frazier was indicted in 2017 as part of the federal case against members and associates of the gang, which prosecutors said was known to control the drug trade in parts of Northwest Baltimore City and neighboring Baltimore County, including Forest Park, Windsor Mill, Gwynn Oak, Howard Park and Woodlawn.

The gang’s drug shop in the 5200 block of Windsor Mill Road was particularly lucrative because of its proximity to Interstate 70, prosecutors said. It frequently attracted drug customers driving from Western Maryland and neighboring states.

A total of 26 defendants charged in this case have been convicted and sentenced, with the gang leader, Dante Bailey, also being sentenced to life in prison, according to the release. Most of the other defendants received 14 to 30 years in federal prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in its release that Frazier and his co-conspirators kidnapped, robbed and murdered Ricardo Johnson on Aug. 10, 2016, “in order to enrich themselves and their drug trafficking conspiracy.”

Johnson, 47, of Randallstown was abducted at approximately 2:30 a.m. as he was returning home to his apartment in the 1100 block of West Lanvale Street in Baltimore. Police found his body less than four hours later in the back of a stolen minivan parked next to the light rail tracks in the 2200 block of Kloman Street.

Johnson had been bound by the wrists and ankles, blindfolded, and shot more than 20 times. There was partially burned flammable material sticking out of the van’s gas tank, indicating that the killers had attempted to set the van on fire before departing the scene, the release states.

Less than 12 hours after Johnson’s body was found, Baltimore City Police attempted to stop Frazier for riding an illegal dirt bike in the 2100 block of Tucker Lane. He fled and was able to get away but abandoned the dirt bike as well as a backpack and gloves he had been wearing.

The backpack contained two cellphones belonging to Frazier and two loaded 9mm handguns. Both guns were a ballistic match to the 9mm bullet casings recovered from the murder scene. He was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to previous felony convictions, according to prosecutors.

Additional evidence connecting Frazier to one of the guns was found by officers during a raid in a vacant home in Harlem Park as part of the investigation into the death of Baltimore Police Detective Sean Suiter. The house was adjacent to the lot where Suiter was shot.

Inside, police recovered a gun box with a serial number matching one of the weapons found in the bag Frazier discarded while fleeing police on a dirt bike in August 2016.

Frazier’s attorneys had argued the search was illegal because the officers did not obtain a warrant first, and the attorneys also said a detective misled a judge in an application for a search warrant after the fact by falsely claiming that there was a blood trail from where Suiter was shot. Police said exigent circumstances and the fact that the building appeared to be abandoned led them to enter without a warrant. A judge later denied a motion to suppress the evidence.

Police also linked Frazier’s DNA to the victim, prosecutors said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Baltimore City and Baltimore County police departments, and the Baltimore City and Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Offices investigated the case against the Murdaland Mafia Piru gang.