In 2019, Wayne Jenkins pleaded guilty to several charges, including robbery, racketeering, and document falsification. He was a respected officer in the Baltimore Police Department.
“We Own This City,” HBO’s latest drama, is based on the real-life Gun Trace Task Force controversy. Many cops have been arrested after years of shady and criminal deals, including bribery and evidence planting.
Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, played by Jon Bernthal, is the show’s iconic figure. He is the Gun Trace Task Force’s de facto ringleader.
Is Wayne Jenkins From We Own This City Still In Jail?
Former Baltimore Police Department Sergeant Wayne Jenkins is currently incarcerated in a federal prison in Kentucky under the identification number 62928-037.
Wayne was sentenced to 25 years in jail in June 2018. He was imprisoned at the federal penitentiary in Edgefield, South Carolina, for the first three years of his term.
In February 2020, however, he applied for early release after saving the life of a fellow inmate. Wayne was given a transfer even though his request was ultimately denied.
HBO ordered a six-episode series based on Baltimore Sun investigative journalist Justin Fenton’s book “We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption” in March 2021, to be written by David Simon and George Pelecanos.
On April 25, 2022, HBO debuted the six-episode series.
Corrupt Baltimore Police Arrest Charges
On March 1, 2017, Wayne Jenkins and six of his fellow officers from the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force walked into the Baltimore Police Department’s Internal Affairs facility. They were there to resolve a minor complaint about a damaged vehicle.
They had previously been praised as among the city’s best gun cops, confiscating scores of illegal firearms every month. Wayne Jenkins was a rising star in the department, thanks to his ability to regularly bring in massive narcotics and weapons seizures.
An FBI SWAT unit greeted the officers as they exited its second-floor elevators. Handcuffs were quickly placed on all seven members.
It came out that the unit had been under state surveillance for several months.
They had a trove of evidence demonstrating Wayne and his subordinates were robbing citizens, stealing drugs, and even selling illegal weapons back on the streets, thanks to wiretaps and secret recording devices.
Jenkins, along with five other former policemen, pleaded guilty.
Where Is Wayne Jenkins Today?
At the moment, Wayne Jenkins is completing the remainder of his sentence in a federal prison in Kentucky.
Jenkins did not testify at the trial throughout the proceedings, although he was the center of attention. After three weeks of unbelievable testimony, the jury found the two remaining officers guilty. Jenkins received the harshest sentence: 25 years in prison.
In 2038, he will be released.