PHILADELPHIA (November 3, 2022) – District Attorney Larry Krasner on Thursday announced the arrests of individuals including a former corrections officer implicated in a criminal organization operating out of a county prison as alleged by an Investigating Grand Jury.
According to a presentment from the Thirty-First Philadelphia County Investigating Grand Jury that was unsealed by the Court of Common Pleas this week, an individual being held pre-trial at Riverside Correctional Facility (RCF), Barry Garland, ran a criminal organization from his jail cell between July and October of 2021. Garland is alleged to have bribed former Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP) corrections officer Khalif Workman, a co-conspirator, to smuggle drugs and other contraband that Garland then resold to fellow RCF detainees for significant profit. Altogether, Workman is alleged to have received approximately $23,000 in bribes from a criminal organization run from the prison where he worked that trafficked in drugs, cell phones, and other contraband.
The Grand Jury also alleged that Garland, using his own contraband cell phone, illegally arranged to have an AR-15 firearm delivered to his criminal associates outside the prison. According to the presentment, Garland illegally bought that AR-15 with money he made from selling contraband in RCF.
More specifically, according to the presentment: “In or about July 2021 through October 2021, Khalif Workman (a/k/a/ ‘Pizza Man’) was a correctional officer at the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. During that period, Workman smuggled narcotics and other prohibited items into Riverside Correctional Facility with intent to distribute to inmates. In exchange, Workman took bribes of more than $20,000.”
The Grand Jury recommended Conspiracy and Corrupt Organizations charges against Workman, Garland, and co-conspirators for their alleged involvement in a criminal enterprise that included “acquiring illegal narcotics, smuggling contraband into RCF, delivering that contraband to other inmates within RCF, and receiving and distributing proceeds of those unlawful activities.”
Garland was able to use Cash App, a mobile payment platform, to purchase an AR-15 despite being incarcerated and prohibited from controlling or possession a firearm, according to the presentment. Garland is alleged in the presentment as having used electronic communications on a contraband cell phone to arrange for the AR-15 to be delivered to an associate, who then participated in transfer of the weapon to another associate, who also was prohibited from controlling or possessing a firearm.
For these and other reasons, and at the recommendation of the Grand Jury, the DAO Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has charged the following individuals with multiple felony offenses:
-
Khalif Workman (DOB: 1/18/1992), corrections officer: Conspiracy; 2 counts Corrupt Organizations; Bribery in Official and Political Matters; 2 counts Contraband/Controlled Substance; Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance; Knowing or Intentional Possession of a Controlled Substance; Criminal Use of a Communications Facility; Dealing in the Proceeds of Unlawful Activity; Obstructing the Administration of Law or Other Governmental Function
-
Barry Garland (DOB: 4/29/1993), RCF detainee: Conspiracy; 2 counts Corrupt Organizations; Bribery in Official and Political Matters; 4 counts Contraband/Controlled Substance; Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance; Knowing or Intentional Possession of a Controlled Substance; Criminal Use of a Communications Facility; 2 counts Dealing in the Proceeds of Unlawful Activity
-
Barry Jones (DOB: 11/30/1983), RCF detainee: Conspiracy; Corrupt Organizations; 3 counts Contraband/Controlled Substance; Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance; Knowing or Intentional Possession of a Controlled Substance; Criminal Use of a Communications Facility; Dealing in the Proceeds of Unlawful Activity
-
Lashawnda Crawford (DOB: 10/23/1992), Garland associate: Conspiracy; 2 counts Corrupt Organizations; Bribery in Official and Political Matters; 2 counts Contraband/Controlled Substance; Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance; Knowing or Intentional Possession of a Controlled Substance; Criminal Use of a Communications Facility; 2 counts Dealing in the Proceeds of Unlawful Activity
-
Ashline Garcia Cruz (DOB: 4/10/1992), Garland associate: Conspiracy; Contraband/Controlled Substance; Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance; Knowing or Intentional Possession of a Controlled Substance; Criminal Use of a Communications Facility
According to the grand jury presentment, in October 2021, Garland used his unlawfully obtained profits and Cash App on a contraband cell phone to illegally purchase an AR-15 for associates outside of RCF after learning that one associate had been murdered in Southwest Philadelphia. Tyree Warthen, 25, was fatally shot on October 6, 2021, at the 5500 block of Elliott Street in Southwest Philadelphia.
(In March, Philadelphia Police Homicide Unit detectives arrested Roderick Williams [DOB: 10/8/1999] for Warthen’s murder as well as for the attempted murder of another individual who was non-fatally shot on November 17, 2021. The DAO Homicide/Non-Fatal Shootings Unit is prosecuting Williams for Warthen’s murder and the DAO Gun Violence Task Force is prosecuting Williams for the 11/17/21 shooting.)
On October 8, 2021, according to the grand jury presentment, Garland said the following in a contraband cell phone text exchange with Jones : “my right hand just got smoked two days ago n my man hit tf up yesterday [sic]” and “[a]t the end of the day kin my n—gas need more guns so I need money to do that shit up out there [sic].”
About 10 days later, Garland used funds from his Cash App account to illegally purchase an AR-style firearm from “Person 4,” according to the presentment. Crawford confirmed the purchase by texting Garland a photo of the AR-15 and a thumbs-up emoji, according to the presentment. The firearm, which has not been recovered by investigators, was then allegedly transferred to associate Rudolph Terrell, who is ineligible to own or carry a firearm.
According to a probable cause affidavit in this investigation, Person 4 was subsequently identified to be Edward Humphrey (DOB: 7/16/1991). According to that affidavit, Humphrey is ineligible to possess a firearm.
According to another probable cause affidavit in this investigation, the same AR-15 firearm is shown in a YouTube video that was posted in November 2021 to an account associated with Terrell. Based on that affidavit, an arrest warrant was issued and Terrell (DOB: 9/10/1996) was arrested on October 1st and will be prosecuted by the SIU for VUFA 6105/Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Conspiracy, and Criminal Use of Communication Facility.
The presentment states, “Garland further asked Crawford to purchase .223 caliber rounds, or ‘shells,’ for the firearm and explained that he would be acquiring another AR-style firearm to stay with Crawford.”
The criminal investigation of this alleged conspiracy began on October 19, 2021, after a member of the PDP Correctional Emergency Response Team, acting on a tip, discovered a cell phone and other contraband in Garland’s jail cell. Workman resigned from the PDP six days later.
Another alleged co-conspirator, Nigier Jones, was murdered on February 6, 2022. An arrest has not been made in that case.
Garland remains in custody and is awaiting sentencing on cases unrelated to this grand jury investigation. Workman and Crawford have been arrested in relation to this investigation and are awaiting trial. The SIU has active warrants for the arrest by police of Barry Jones, Garcia Cruz, and Humphrey.
As with all criminal matters, the individuals named and arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The presentment is available on PhillyDA.org.
CONTACT:Jane Roh, 215-686-8711, [email protected]
###
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the nation. It serves the more than 1.5 million residents of the City and County of Philadelphia, employing 600 lawyers, detectives, and support staff. The District Attorney’s Office is responsible for the prosecution of approximately 40,000 criminal cases annually. Learn more about the DAO by visiting PhillyDA.org.