Estrada accepted the prosecution’s plea offer of 25 years, suspending all but five years, for first-degree assault to run consecutively to 15 years, suspending all but five years without the possibility of parole for firearm use in a felony violent crime. Upon release, Estrada will serve three years of supervised probation, register as a gun offender and be required to stay away from the victims and the incident location.
Datuan Blanchard, 24, faces two life sentences without the possibility of parole at a Sept.12 hearing. He was convicted of two counts of both first- and second-degree murder as well as first-degree assault in the death of 23-year-old Leion Davis Jr. and 24-year-old William Ferebee, according to court records. The two men were found shot to death inside a vehicle in the 4000 block of Wabash Avenue in the East Arlington neighborhood, close to where the street dead-ends in a wooded area, around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2022.
Rather than focusing on the historic charging and conviction data provided by State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates and his team, Councilman Kristerfer Burnett used the budgetary bully pulpit to demonstrate his ire and ignorance of the citation docket. Had he bothered to pay attention, the councilman could have discovered how useful citations have proven for past administrations trying to hold offenders accountable for quality-of-life crimes.
Troy Antwaun Spencer, 49, of Baltimore, was accused of aiming the gun at a coach during the March 6, 2023, Leith Walk Elementary Middle School basketball game in North Baltimore’s Ramblewood neighborhood, according to court documents, which also state that Spencer was confronting the coach over his son not getting enough playing time.
Across Maryland, local governments are facing tough choices as they finalize their budgets for the coming fiscal year. A statewide mandate to upgrade K-12 public schools — along with a desire not to raise taxes on inflation-weary consumers — is a common lament in counties large and small. But in Baltimore, the stakes may be highest of all. That’s because Mayor Brandon Scott and members of the Baltimore City Council must decide before the month’s end how to allocate limited resources to public safety. Their decision essentially corresponds with the answer to this question: What approach works best when it comes to reducing gun violence in Baltimore?
"You do not get the kind of numbers and reductions without a proper relationship with city hall and the state’s attorney," said Governor Wes Moore.
It was an event hosted by Bates at Coppin State University with other city agencies participating in what they called a solution-driven conversation about crime and grime in the city.
Less than a month later, the prosecutor continued, police were called for a shooting at an apartment complex on the 700 block of Poplar Grove Street. Security guards told police the suspect shot at them and then went into an apartment. Williams barricaded himself in the apartment before eventually surrendering when a family member arrived.
That last image conjures up mixed emotions for many Baltimoreans. Some see themselves in these young men and women, enjoying the feeling of invincibility that comes with being young. For others, the loud bikes weaving in and out of traffic and on sidewalks are more than an annoyance– they can be frightening for both pedestrians and drivers. It is for the safety of everyone in the community, including the young people riding helmet-less and driving at break-neck speeds, that compels State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, as the top prosecutor in the City, to enforce the laws already on the books regarding dirt bike riding.
