Department of Justice

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Andre Ricardo Briscoe, a/k/a “Poo”, age 39, of Baltimore and Cambridge, Maryland, to life in federal prison for federal drug distribution charges, use of a firearm to commit murder in relation to drug trafficking crimes, killing a witness to prevent communication with law enforcement and being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition.  Defendant Briscoe was convicted of those charges on June 8, 2022, after a 12-day jury trial.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Justin Todd of the Cambridge Police Department.

According to the facts proven at his trial, from March through October 2015, Briscoe conspired with others to distribute heroin.  On May 25, 2015, Briscoe traveled from his home in Cambridge, Maryland, to the home of co-defendant Kiara Haynes, with whom he was romantically involved.  He told Haynes that he planned to steal heroin from Jennifer Jeffrey, a long-time friend of Haynes.  According to trial testimony, during the course of the evening, Briscoe explained that Ms. Jeffrey had heroin and he planned to rob and kill Ms. Jeffrey to get the heroin.  Haynes told Briscoe she would help him get a gun.

Haynes subsequently contacted a relative whom she knew to have a gun.  The relative was incarcerated at the time.  Haynes told the relative on a recorded jail line that she needed the gun so Briscoe could rob Ms. Jeffrey of her drugs.  In exchange for allowing Haynes to use the gun, Haynes promised to give the inmate “like 30 [grams]” of the stolen heroin and give him the gun back.  The inmate agreed to loan Haynes the gun.  After the call, Haynes and Briscoe met with the inmate’s brother, who gave Haynes a .45 caliber firearm.  Briscoe and Haynes returned to Haynes’s apartment with the gun.

Later that night, Briscoe left Haynes’s apartment and went to visit Ms. Jeffrey at her nearby home.  As detailed during trial testimony, after Briscoe returned to Haynes’s apartment on the morning of May 27, 2015, Briscoe told Haynes that Ms. Jeffrey had shown him a large amount of heroin and that Ms. Jeffrey’s child did not feel well and had not gone to school that day.  At approximately 11:41 a.m. Haynes overheard Briscoe on the phone with Ms. Jeffrey, who was talking about making breakfast for Briscoe.  Briscoe retrieved the .45-caliber gun from Haynes’s bedroom and told her that he was going to Ms. Jeffrey’s to get the drugs.

Briscoe then went to Ms. Jeffrey’s home, where he carried out his plan by robbing her of at least 80 grams of drugs and murdered Ms. Jeffrey, shooting her in the wrist, shoulder, chest, and back of the head.  Briscoe also killed Ms. Jeffrey’s child while he was in his bed by shooting the child multiple times in the head.

Briscoe returned to Haynes’s apartment and told her that Jennifer Jeffrey and her child were dead and gave Haynes a bag of heroin as her “cut.”  As detailed in Haynes’s plea agreement, she returned the gun to the inmate’s relative along with the heroin given to her by Briscoe, as payment for the use of the gun.  On May 28, 2015, after a receiving a call for assistance, the Baltimore Police Department discovered Ms. Jeffrey and her child dead in their home.

Co-defendant Kiara Haynes, age 38, of Baltimore, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for two counts of aiding and abetting the use and discharge of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime and crime of violence, causing the death of Jennifer Jeffrey and her seven-year-old child. 

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.  NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles.  For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-….

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended ATF, the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Cambridge Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Hanlon and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Wilkinson for their assistance.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.