Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced the guilty pleas and sentencing of Karon Johnson and Pierre Briggs, two members of the “39 Babies” gang.
Johnson and Briggs, both 23 years old and are from Baltimore, will be sentenced on charges including participation in a criminal organization and associated firearms violations. Johnson also pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.
The charges relate to a long-term investigation into a criminal enterprise, operating in Baltimore City, that engaged in a pattern of violent acts, including murders, assaults, and firearms-related counts, primarily in Baltimore’s Northeastern and Northern Districts.
“This criminal organization created a wave of violence that changed lives and devastated families across communities,” said Attorney General Brown in a news release. “I am committed to ensuring Marylanders have the safe neighborhoods they deserve, free from violence and crime. These guilty pleas send a clear message to violent offenders that their time is up.”
On February 5, 2024, Johnson pleaded guilty before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles Dorsey to participating in a criminal organization; two counts of first-degree murder, for the murders of Deonte Henderson and London Stuckey; and use of a handgun in commission of a crime of violence.
Johnson was 19 years old at the time of the offenses, and he was sentenced to life incarceration suspending all but 40 years.
Briggs also pleaded guilty before Judge Dorsey to participating in a criminal organization and two counts of illegal possession of a regulated firearm by a prohibited person. He was sentenced to 35 years of incarceration, suspending all but 15 years, with the first 10 years to be served without the possibility of parole, and five years of supervised probation.