5 Suspects Face Hundreds Of Charges For Human Trafficking, Drug Crimes

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Five people face hundreds of criminal charges for taking part in what authorities said was a violent human trafficking and drug trafficking ring operating out of hotels and motels along the Route 1 corridor in Jessup and nearby areas since spring of 2023.

The Maryland Attorney General's Office stated that the members of the group have been charged with trafficking about 17 women and large amounts of drugs. During the investigation, detectives discovered that the trafficked women were chosen because of their drug dependency, the state attorney general's office stated. Officials have linked 10 drug overdoses, including one fatal, to the activities of the drug ring, a news release stated.

One of the suspects, Isaiah Robinson, beat up victims, stomped on one person's head and lit one woman's hair on fire, the Maryland Attorney General's Office said in a news release.

The organization would arrange commercial sex "dates" on behalf of the women and take the profits of these dates in exchange for providing free housing at the motels and access to drugs for the women, authorities said. The indictment alleges the organization would purposely keep the women in unsurmountable amounts of arbitrary debt so they kept committing acts of prostitution.

The organization would advance the women a room at a motel and drugs, then the victims would be threatened, beaten and denied access to drugs, causing severe sickness due to withdrawal symptoms in order to force them to continue performing commercial sex dates, a news release said.

The five people charged pocketed the profits from the sex work and purchased, then sold illegal drugs at a higher price to buyers. Two of the drug suppliers have been charged in Anne Arundel County, the news release said.

The suspects indicted are:

• Isaiah Robinson of Columbia – charged with 117 counts
• Julian Thigpen of Jessup – charged with 100 counts
• Tamara Johnson of Columbia – charged with 12 counts
• Denney Stomer of Hanover – charged with 34 counts
• Terrill Furbush of Glen Burnie – charged with 64 counts

Search warrants executed in the case yielded seven firearms, more than $150,000 and the following drugs:

• More than 1 kilogram of fentanyl
• More than 3 kilograms of heroin
• More than 5 kilograms of cocaine

“This violent criminal organization exploited vulnerable women through addiction, used threats and violence to control them, and distributed deadly drugs that claimed at least one Marylander's life,” said Maryland State's Attorney General Anthony Brown.

“This was an intensive case that spanned months and required thousands of investigative hours, and as a result we've removed dangerous people and illegal drugs and guns from the streets,” added Howard County Police Chief Gregory Der.