Police say a gang responsible for dozens of crimes in seven East Coast states maintained a residence at 36 Brunswick Ave. in Gardiner, above. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Members of an allegedly violent criminal organization that police say are responsible for dozens of crimes, and at least four deaths, in seven states on the East Coast have ties to central Maine, including an apartment in Gardiner that police say served as their base of operations.

Amanda Marie “Tiny” Correa Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office

Authorities in Pennsylvania, where seven suspects were recently indicted, said the suspects would use online dating sites to connect with men looking for prostitutes and connect with them and then drug and rob them.

Gerard M. Karam, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced last week that seven suspects involved in what police are calling the “Fentanyl Robbery Gang,” or FRG, were indicted by a federal grand jury in that state on gun and drug trafficking charges, including conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death and serious bodily injury, two counts of distributing fentanyl resulting in death and serious bodily injury, two counts of brandishing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, kidnapping, and aggravated identity theft.

Robert Andrew “Tripp” Barnes Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office

Karam said in a press conference the “core members of this violent street gang consisted of individuals from Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania,” and that some of the members are affiliated with New York gangs.

The indictment states the group, which it describes as a “criminal street gang,” maintained a residence in Gardiner. Three of the people indicted were from Gardiner or the surrounding area, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Gardiner police Chief Todd Pilsbury said his department shared intelligence information they had on the group’s apartment in a building at 36 Brunswick Ave., and assisted other law enforcement agencies who entered the apartment with a search warrant in April, looking for evidence.

Samuel P. “Sam” Jordan Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office

“This was their base, their new base,” Pilsbury said of the Gardiner apartment. “They all stayed there, and then just traveled from there.”

Pilsbury said police are not aware of any of the group’s crimes taking place in Maine, but noted the investigation is ongoing. “It’s a possibility, but we haven’t received any reports of it yet,” Pilsbury said. There have been drug overdose deaths in Gardiner, he said, but none that he knew of had been connected to the group.

The indictment said the group used dating websites, such as “Plenty of Fish” and “Meet Me,” to connect with men interested in hiring prostitutes. They would make arrangements to meet the victims at their location and then rob them. The victims would allegedly be offered narcotics, usually telling the victims it was cocaine when the drugs really contained fentanyl. If victims refused the drugs, members and associates of the group would administer fentanyl-laced narcotics to the victims by forcibly or surreptitiously introducing it into the victims’ body, according to a July 12 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Shaqare Jaymont “Clout” Blackwell Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office

“This was done to incapacitate victims as to steal firearms, cash, cellular telephones, identification documents, debit and credit cards, drugs, and other items of value,” Karam said in the release. “If a victim was not incapacitated, or not incapacitated quickly enough, members of the FRG would instead change course and simply commit home-invasion robberies where they would be let into the victim’s home by other members and associates and then steal items of value at gunpoint or through other violent means, including threats, beatings and aggravated assault.”

The indictment alleges that four victims died of fentanyl overdoses in connection to the group’s activities, three in Pennsylvania and one in New Hampshire.

The group, the indictment states, was formed in mid-to-late 2023 and its members traveled together and stayed at various motels in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

Indicted for their alleged involvement in the group by a federal grand jury were: Amanda Marie “Tiny” Correa, 29, Robert Andrew “Tripp” Barnes, 24, Christine Deann “Jamie” DiCarlo, 50, Shaqare Jaymont “Clout” Blackwell, 23, Shakur Serafin “Kur” Brownstein, 27, Dylan Wilson “Tooley” Small, 35, and Samuel P. “Sam” Jordan, 42.

Dawn L. Clark, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, said Jordan, DiCarlo, and Small are from Maine. She said all are from Gardiner or close to Gardiner.

Additionally, Correa, the alleged leader of the group, was living in Maine, but has ties to Scranton, Pennsylvania,  and New York City.

Dylan Wilson “Tooley” Small Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office

Pilsbury said the apartment was rented in Jordan’s name, Small also lived in Gardiner, and DiCarlo lived in the Lewiston-Auburn area.

He said none of the suspects were at the apartment when police searched it in April because, he said, at that point they’d already been arrested in Pennsylvania.

Among the allegations, the indictment states that on March 22, 2024, Jordan rented a Toyota Corolla from Enterprise in Augusta and, the next day Correa, Barnes, DiCarlo, Blackwell and Small traveled to West Pittston, Pennsylvania, and delivered fentanyl to a victim, identified only by the initials J.C., resulting in J.C.’s death.

Shakur Serafin “Kur” Brownstein Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office

Karam said to date more than 50 victims of the gang have been identified, from Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

An indictment is not a determination of guilt but is an indication enough evidence exists for a case to move toward trial.

All seven defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, according to federal court records.

The seven defendants are all currently in the custody of authorities, officials said. The investigation remains ongoing and law enforcement officials are attempting to identify and arrest additional members and associates of the gang, and locate victims. Victims or others who may have information are asked to contact the FBI at 570-344-2404.

Christine Deann “Jamie” DiCarlo Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office

Jamie Milligan, assistant special agent in charge for the FBI’s Philadelphia field office, said they believe there are more victims, and asked them to come forward.

“If you believe you’ve been victimized by this gang, please, please, reach out to us,” Milligan said in a July 12 press conference. “We need your help to make sure the rest of the people involved in this are brought to justice.”

The joint investigation involved the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police, U.S. Marshals Service, multiple district attorney offices in Pennsylvania, Portsmouth, New Hampshire police, New Hampshire Office of the Attorney General, and various state and local law enforcement agencies.

Karam said a major break in the case occurred in April when Scranton police responded to a routine call about a theft of Airpods wireless headphones and bank cards from a vehicle and the stolen items were traced to a hotel and stores where the suspects allegedly used the bank cards. The suspects were found and arrested at a local hotel.