7.18.11: Gatling Sentenced for Attacks on Two Cab Drivers in One Day
July 18, 2011 -- Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Paul E. Alpert sentenced Dana Gatling today to 13 years in prison for robbing one taxicab driver and carjacking another in the span of just eight hours.
On april 8, 2010, Melissa Jackson, a driver for the New Harbor Transportation company, was dispatched to the 4700 block of Fairhaven Avenue in Curtis Bay to pick up a fare at 12:45 a.m. The suctomer, Dana Gatling, entered the car's rear door and asked to be taken to the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Saratoga Street. When they arrived, Gatling instructed her to take him to the 200 block of N. Amity Street. From the back seat, Gatling then put Jackson in a choke hold and threatened to kill her if she didn't give him all of her money. With Jackson's $117 in hand, Gatling fled on foot.
At 8:30 a.m. on the same day, Larry Horton, a driver for the same cab company, New Harbor, picked up a customer, Gatling, in Curtis Bay. Gatling's announced destination was the intersection of Howard and 25th streets. When Horton requested up-front payment, Gatling asked to be taken to a nearby automated teller machine, presumably to withdraw money. As Horton approached the ATM, Gatling changed his mind, saying he watned to be taken for coffee. When Horton pulled into the 3500 block of 4th Street, Gatling put a hard object in the driver's back and ordered him to relinquish all of his money and to drive him where he wanted to go. Horton turned over $18 and got out of the vehicle, thinking that Gatling would then run away. Instead, Gatling jumped into the driver's seat and started to drive away. Hanging on to the car in attempt to stop Gatling, Horton was dragged roughly 20 feet, sustaining injuries that required treatment at Franklin Square Hospital.
Gatling, 38, pled guilty to robber for the attack on Jackson and to carjacking for the attack on Horton. Assistant State's Attorney Kurt Bjorklund prosecuted the case.