Ryan Guinn

**Ryan Guinn** is a supporting character in *We Own This City*. Guinn is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department. He was a member of the Gun Trace Taskforce (GTTF) when it was first created in 2007. He worked with Sean Suiter, Wayne Jenkins and Sergeant Keith Gladstone in the violent repeat offender unit for the first half of 2010. The character is based on the real person of the same name. He is played by co-star Aristeo F. Kardia.

## Biography

Guinn began his career in the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) as a patrol officer in the Southern District.

He became a plain clothes narcotics detective and was successful in conducting investigations into drug dealers. He was transferred into the newly formed city wide Gun Trace Taskforce (GTTF) when it was created in 2007. He was reassured by his supervisors that the unit would be focused on detailed investigations rather than "street rips". The unit was 14 detectives strong with investigators joining from Baltimore County and the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency.

In 2010 Guinn was briefly reassigned from the GTTF to the violent repeat offender (VRO) unit. He was part of the unit from approximately January to July 2010. During this period he worked with Sergeant Keith Gladstone and Detectives Sean Suiter and Wayne Jenkins. Guinn was involved in the car stop and chase that led to the arrest of Umar Burley and the death of Elbert Davis Sr. after Burley collided with his vehicle while fleeing from the VRO detectives. Jenkins confided in Guinn after the events that he could not testify if the case against Burley went to court and later admitted to planting narcotics in Burley's vehicle following the crash. Guinn left the VRO unit just prior to them making the headlines with a raid on a car wash which led to the seizure of narcotics and guns.

Guinn returned to the GTTF but found the unit much changed under a new commander - they were now focused primarily on street work and the ATF and County investigators had left the unit. Guinn worked with Momodu Gondo and Jemell Rayam in the GTTF from 2012 to 2013. Guinn was suspicious of Gondo's friendships with known criminals including drug dealer Antonio Shropshire. Guinn raised his concerns to internal affairs commander Jerry Rodriguez who put him in touch with Internal Affairs detectives detailed to the FBI. Guinn met with the detectives in 2013 and relayed his concerns but nothing followed. Guinn pursued an investigation of Gondo in his own time, following his colleague outside of work but failed to find evidence of wrongdoing.

By 2013 Guinn had been promoted to Sergeant in the BPD. He was reassigned to the North Eastern division and returned to patrol work. Guinn was on duty when Jenkins was involved in a collision with a suspect, Demetric Simon, in 2014. Jenkins claimed to have struck Simon with his vehicle because Simon aimed a gun at him. No gun was initially recovered. Jenkins called Sergeant Gladstone to the scene and Gladstone planted a Ball Bullet (BB) gun near the crash site to support Jenkins' claims. Guinn was suspicious of the sudden find after Gladstone's arrival.

Guinn was reassigned to a role at the BPD training academy by 2015. Guinn was contacted by FBI Agent Erika Jensen about the concerns he had raised as she led an investigation into the GTTF detectives later that year. He gave her further information on Gondo and also put her in touch with Jenkins, who had previously shared concerns with Guinn that Gondo was corrupt. Jenkins relayed Gondo's association with Glynn Kyle Wells.

Suiter and Guinn were called to testify to the Grand Jury after the GTTF investigation raised suspicions about evidence planting in the 2010 Umar Burley arrest. Suiter died in November 2017, just before he was due to testify. He was shot in the head in a Harlem Park alley and investigators were unable to rule out the possibility that he killed himself. Guinn testified shortly afterwards and became emotional when questioned about Suiter.

Guinn's testimony was used to build a case against Jenkins for planting drug's in Burley's car. Because of Guinn's involvement in the arrest the BPD suspended him from his role in the training academy as a precautionary measure. Burley's conviction was overturned and he accused Guinn and Suiter of being part of Jenkins corruption - claiming that when they stopped him they wore black facemasks and did not identify themselves as police, causing him to flee. However, the federal investigators reassured the BPD that they did not suspect Guinn of any wrongdoing and his suspension was lifted.

By 2019 Guinn had been asked to testify about the arrest of Demetric Simon and the possible evidence planting by Gladstone. The department once again suspended Guinn because he was involved in the events. Guinn was later charged by Internal Affairs for tipping off Jenkins to the Gondo investigation. The BPD later tried to reassign him to a juvenile detention role. Guinn was incredulous about the way the department treated him and decided not to return. His mental health suffered as a result of the suspensions and he suffered from anxiety and depression. He took medical leave and found a new role, working as an insurance claim investigator for his father-in-law in New York.