7th Correctional Officer Enters Guilty Plea For Aiding Prison Gang In Smuggling Scandal

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Another corrections officer enters a guilty plea Wednesday for her involvement in the sophisticated contraband smuggling operation at the Baltimore City Detention Center that drew national attention to Maryland.

Mike Hellgren has the latest on the female corrections officer and what she's admitting.

The case was built on extensive wiretaps. Now, more than half the officers involved have entered guilty pleas.

A correctional officer admitted smuggling tobacco, marijuana and pills into the Baltimore City Detention Center on behalf of the violent and powerful Black Guerrilla Family gang.

Kimberly Dennis is now the seventh of 13 correctional officers charged in this bombshell case to enter a guilty plea since the U.S. Attorney announced indictments earlier this year.

"We need to be able to rely on people in law enforcement to make sure they're on our side and not the criminals' side," said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.

WJZ obtained Dennis' guilty plea, where she admitted having sex with two BGF gang members. It was easy prey for BGF leadership who counted on corrupt officers to run a criminal empire.

To view the complete guilty agreement, click here.

"It was a strategy of BGF to identify people they thought would be weak, people they could take advantage of and co-opt," Rosenstein said.

The FBI says Dennis would have another officer serve as a lookout while she had sex in a closet with a gang member inmate. And according to published reports, she hoped to earn as much as $2,000 a week smuggling contraband into the jail.

BGF started in California and later hit it big in Maryland, becoming the state's largest prison gang, distributing a book and quickly developing a network selling drugs behind bars--where one of the gang's kingpins made more than $15,000 a month.

Critics wondered how this was allowed to happen.

"Boy, it looks like the rot is pretty longstanding and pretty deep," said Comptroller Peter Franchot.

"Those indictments are a direct results of our efforts," said Gary Maynard, Public Safety Secretary, in June. "Maryland's prison system is much safer than it was back then."

Now, one-by-one, the government is gaining guilty pleas from indicted officers.

Those in charge of the state's prisons have implemented new screening and safety procedures as they work to crack down on corruption.

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