2 men charged with 7 Baltimore area homicides in gang case

BALTIMORE (AP) — Two men have been indicted by a Baltimore grand jury and charged with killing at least seven people as suspected hitmen for a gang, officials announced Tuesday.

Cornell Moore and Keith Russell, both 38, are accused of stealing cars and using those vehicles to carry out shootings, which included a 2022 double homicide of a man and his pregnant fiancée, according to prosecutors. She died but doctors were able to deliver the baby, according to police.

They have also been charged with three nonfatal shootings and a series of carjackings starting in 2020.

“This case represents the devastating impact a small number of violent perpetrators can have on our communities,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said at a news conference Tuesday. He called it one of his office’s most significant prosecutions since he was elected the city’s top prosecutor and sworn in early last year.

Bates said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected as law enforcement seeks to take down an expansive criminal enterprise. His office worked with Baltimore police as well as federal agents to build their case.

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Bates described Moore and Russell as hitmen who were following orders from other gang members. Bates declined to provide the name of the gang.

Attorneys representing Moore and Russell are not yet listed in online court records for this case. Emails seeking comment were sent to attorneys representing the men in separate ongoing cases in Baltimore County.

Bates said that members of the gang were compensated for committing acts of violence to further the organization’s mission and eliminate threats from rival groups. He said one of the seven homicides took place in Baltimore County.

“The cold and calculated nature of the alleged acts and these indictments must be met with swift and serious consequences,” he said. “These indictments are the first steps to achieving that.”