Black Guerilla Family Conspirator Re-Arrested Within Days of Release

Marlow Bates, the 26-year-old son of the legendary, Wire-inspiring Baltimore gangster of the same name, on Sept. 20 finished his 46-month prison sentence for his part in the sprawling Black Guerrilla Family prison-gang federal conspiracy (“Down for the Count,” Mobtown Beat, Nov. 25, 2009). Six days after release, though, he was re-arrested in Baltimore County on charges of stealing a Maryland Department of Corrections (DOC) badge, according to court records.

Bates’ probation officer, John Albert, wrote the report about the arrest, which U.S. District Court Judge William Quarles docketed in Bates’ federal case file on Oct. 25. “The defendant’s adjustment under supervision so far has been poor,” Albert wrote, “in that within six days of his release he has been arrested.”

According to Albert’s report, Bates’ Sept. 26 arrest at his girlfriend’s Baltimore County home resulted from a police raid on the residence, though the warrant concerned the girlfriend’s alleged conduct, not Bates’. During the search, officers found a DOC badge in Bates’ car and, as a result, charged him with theft and “personation: unauthorized use of uniform,” as the report states. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 29.

According to the probation report, Bates told Albert “that his brother’s girlfriend (who is a correctional officer) left the badge in the car the last time that his brother used the car,” and that the badge’s owner “is prepared to appear in Court” to say it wasn’t stolen. Albert told Bates to “move from the girlfriend’s residence” due to her “questionable activities” and instead “move in with his mother.”