Steve L. Willock,TPP Bloods accused of committing five murders in the past 2 1/2 years
The gang called itself the TPP Bloods, the TTP standing for Tree Top Pirus- a reference to a group of streets in Compton, Calif., named after trees. But the organization, federal prosecutors said, originated in Maryland, not California, and in less than 10 years it became one of the most violent in the state. A sweeping indictment against 28 alleged TTP Bloods members- 23 men and five women- was unsealed Monday in federal court in Baltimore. Prosecutors charged 26 of them with racketeering conspiracy under a law designed to go after organized crime. They're accused of committing five murders in the past 2 1/2 years, along with crimes including robberies, kidnappings, drug trafficking and threatening and intimidating witnesses. "This is an organization that is alleged to have had a hierarchy, a structure, leadership, goals and rules that govern the conduct of the gang members," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said, adding that the racketeering charges allow prosecutors to ...