An early morning FBI raid in Annapolis Wednesday led to 11 arrests in what investigators described as an “open-air drug shop” operating out of the New Vernon and Clay Street neighborhood, according to federal court documents.

The arrests come after a 17-month investigation by FBI and Annapolis Police Task Force officers involving physical and wiretap surveillance, according to a 43-page indictment filed Tuesday, leading to accusations of money laundering, soliciting prostitution, and trafficking cocaine, crack, heroin, various opioid pills and PCP.

Authorities identified Curtis Johnson, one of their “target subjects,” as the “primary supplier” to the Clay Street operation. The remaining defendants, the indictment states, fulfilled other roles, from cocaine suppliers to street-level dealers. They are:

Larry Adams, also known as “LA,” “L” or “Los Angeles”

Orlando Thomson, also known as “Burmp”

Rodrick Simms, also known as “Boo Boo”

Juan Lamont Johnson, also known as “JJ”

Demarco Watkins, also known as “Pappa” or “Pop”

Sheldon Wells, also knowns as “Butters” or “Butta”

Abdallah Simms, also known as “Moe C” or “Mace”

Aureon Johnson, also known as “A” or “Shorty A”

Keo Williams, also known as “Cheek”

Tijee Benett, also known as “Goo Goo”

All 11 defendants have been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances, a federal violation that could result in a life sentence, depending on the amount and type of drugs involved, according to the Department of Justice.

Though the actions outlined in court records largely took place around New Vernon and Clay streets, the indictment states that Adams was the only suspect who lived in the area. They described him as the “enforcer and protector” of the alleged drug shop.

Angelina Thompson, a spokesperson with the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, declined to comment on the raid and the criminal cases.

Federal and city investigators began tracking Curtis Johnson in May 2023, according to the indictment, and found him and others “openly engaging” with their shop on a street corner. They described an interlocking operation, one in which drugs were bought and resold between the parties, depending on who had certain substances available, or a buyer lined up.

Weeks after they began surveilling the group, a federal judge authorized a wiretap on Johnson’s, Thompson’s and Adams’ cell phones — Johnson had two, according to the FBI.

The wiretap generated an assortment of evidence, court records show, including text messages and calls on sales and re-sales, as well as photographs of suspected drugs. In one exchange, Williams asks Adams, who lives near the shop, if someone is “up there.” Adams says, “Yeah. He’s playing the game.” They then coordinate the sale of two “fives,” which investigators interpreted to be “a quantity of five unknown drugs.”

Shortly after the wiretap was placed, members of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Florida contacted agents in Baltimore to notify them of an upcoming drug deal in Maryland involving Adams. According to the indictment, Adams was looking to drop off money with a cartel-linked representative in late June to pay for a shipment of drugs. The representative was not named in court filings, nor was the type, price or quantity of substances Adams was seeking.

An undercover DEA agent planned a drop-off with Adams in the Baltimore area while other agents surveilled the transaction. Investigators said after receiving a serial number, Adams handed the undercover officer a plastic bag with $76,000 before returning to Annapolis. DEA agents followed him back to the Clay Street neighborhood.

The indictment outlines specific actions and evidence against each defendant, noting transactions they were allegedly part of, mostly involving drugs but sometimes involving other things as well. Thompson, for instance, was accused of working with an uncharged co-conspirator “to sell a prostitute and crack cocaine” to an unnamed, “well-heeled,” or wealthy, customer from the Eastern Shore.

The investigation culminated in a raid Wednesday morning by several law enforcement agencies in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County and Baltimore City. Though the indictment highlights activities in the Annapolis neighborhood, it was not clear what other parts of Anne Arundel or Baltimore were involved. Representatives from the Anne Arundel and Baltimore police departments deferred comment to the FBI, which did not elaborate.

The Capital Gazette received an email sent to City Council members by the Annapolis Police Department describing the planned operation. It warned local officials to expect an influx of 911 calls, as residents may see “huge convoys of about 20 SWAT teams” flood a “few” neighborhoods. Police said “numerous flash bangs” would be deployed in the service of 20 search and seizure warrants and 16 arrest warrants.

The area police raided sits behind West Street in downtown Annapolis, separated by some trees and businesses along the popular road. It is also near the John Whitmore Garage, which generations of Black residents have criticized for splitting a thriving community — known as the Old Fourth Ward — and disconnecting them from the growing economic opportunities in the state capital.

Later, a spokesperson for the FBI Baltimore Field Office said 18 “court-authorized searches” were made in the three areas and that 14 unidentified suspects had been arrested. Beyond the 11 people named in the alleged Clay Street drug shop, it was unclear Thursday who else was arrested during the raids.

Annapolis Police Chief Ed Jackson described Wednesday’s events as “very fruitful,” saying, without clarifying, that “a lot of evidence” had been recovered by the SWAT teams. He said the arrests were made largely “without incident.”

“I hope the residents are seeing our efforts to make them safe,” Jackson said Thursday, “and we’re willing to partner with any federal, state, local law enforcement agency to make that happen.”

Have a news tip? Contact Luke Parker at lparker@baltsun.com, 410-725-6214, or on X @lparkernews.