A Jamaican woman in Maryland, USA, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for murder in aid of racketeering in connection with a conspiracy to distribute marijuana in five U.S. states and Jamaica.
The sentence was the culmination of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Baltimore County Police Department and the Anne Arundel County Police Department.
Jean Brown, 53 has been labelled one of the leaders of the Brown Organization, whose members distributed narcotics primarily in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Arizona, California and Jamaica.
Her co-conspirators, Dean Myrie, aka “Journey,” 39, pleaded guilty to kidnapping in aid of racketeering and was sentenced to 108 months in prison.
Hubert Downer, also known as “Doc” and “Michael Reid,” 51, and Peter Blake, 55, all Jamaicans, have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.
According to evidence presented at their seven-day trial, the court was told that Jean Brown and Carl Smith – who was killed by one of Brown’s co-conspirators – led a drug organization that obtained marijuana in Arizona and California and used trucking companies that Brown owned and operated to transport the marijuana to Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York on a monthly basis.
The conspirators transported as much as 1,000 pounds of marijuana per month from 2000 until Brown’s arrest in 2010.
Brown employed the truck drivers, arranged for the distribution of the marijuana on the East Coast, used couriers to smuggle the drug proceeds to Jamaica and sent cash back to the Southwest to pay for the next load.
William Winter, special agent in charge of HSI Baltimore, was pleased with the conviction and vowed that the fight against criminal organizations would continue.
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