Jaymyra Burrell, 19, died after she was shot around 3 a.m. on December 4, 2022, in the 5600 block of Woodmont Avenue. Charging documents said Burrell was shot nine times and a witness told investigators that McCormick admitted to the murder.
A Waverly man who killed a longtime Johns Hopkins University professor 30 years ago was just sentenced to 20 years for robbing the Ace Hardware store where he once worked.
Over the past 2 years Baltimore State's Attorney Ivan Bates says his office has been able to increase the number of people it put behind bars, which he says brings down violent crimes in the city.
Automatic charging of young people as adults, regardless of offense, has been an issue several Democratic lawmakers have pushed for without success in Annapolis. In 2022, Sen. Jill Carter, D-Baltimore City, introduced a law to criminal cases involving young people in the juvenile system, with the option of ‘waiving up’ to the adult system, or essentially petitioning the court to move the case to an adult system.
Under Bates’ leadership, his office has increased its attorney staff from 141 to 185 and received $2 million in state funding to improve body-camera footage review. The results show in the numbers: between 2023 and 2024, out of 2,443 felony gun cases, 1,723 resulted in jail time, compared to just 781 cases between 2021 and 2022.
“I think unfortunately, the way the criminal justice system really works, we looked at the numbers and I’m looking at the numbers, we realized over a three-year period that GVRS, they’ve served 201 people,” Bates said, meaning 201 people have been provided services. “I can tell you 200 people is not enough to make that substantial change.”
Residents who attend will be able to ask questions, connect their children with summer programs and get information on the different services offered by city agencies.
In a statement, Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates called the killing “exceedingly cruel and brutal” and said he hopes the life sentence “brings a measure of justice for the senseless and tragic loss” of Barney.
