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Board of Estimates agrees to $525k lawsuit settlement involving former BPD GTTF detectives

baltimore city money
Posted at 2:39 PM, Jul 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-21 12:32:59-04

BALTIMORE — On Wednesday, Baltimore City's Board of Estimates approved a $525,000 settlement stemming from a lawsuit against two former police detectives convicted in the Gun Trace Task Force scandal.

In August 2014, Robert Johnson said he was the passenger in a car that was stopped by then detectives Momodu Gondo and Jemell Rayam.

The two apparently found a gun on Johnson leading to him pleading guilty and spending four years in jail.

In 2017, both officers pled guilty to federal RICO violations, prompting Johnson to petition a court to withdraw his guilty plea and overturn his conviction. That request was ultimately granted.

SEE ALSO: Baltimore City State's Attorney will ask court to throw out nearly 800 GTTF related convictions

Two years later he filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Gondo and Rayam planted the gun on him.

In April 2020, Maryland's high court turned down the city's argument in a case that GTTF officers were acting outside the scope of their employment when they committed their crimes.

Including this case, Baltimore City has settled 30 cases related to the GTTF and paid out nearly $14.5 million dollars.