Top prosecutors across the state are asking lawmakers to make several changes to the juvenile justice laws. One of the biggest issues facing prosecutors is the lack of transparency in the juvenile justice system, according to the panel.
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said in December that they wanted legislators to increase probation for juveniles.
Police responded to the Marathon Gas Station at 427 W. Mulberry St. at around 3:52 a.m. on June 15, 2022. They found Jones suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck. He later died at the hospital.
In this week’s Friday Focus, FOX45 sat down with Deputy State’s Attorney Angela Galeano to discuss the details of the upcoming case and the message Bates hopes to send by taking on the trial himself.
Barron was joined by leaders from the DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security, and Director of the ATF Steve Dettelbach. Local leaders, like Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates and Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley were also in attendance.
Chashelle Warren no longer works as intake director at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center, leaving DJS the week before Christmas and about seven weeks after key lawmakers sent a pointed letter criticizing the department’s handling of cases where teens were required to be detained instead of released. That letter revealed the department had launched an internal investigation into the issue and promised accountability. Reached by phone, Warren confirmed she has left juvenile services but declined to be interviewed.
“I think it helps that the U.S. Attorney and I have known each other for 20 years,” Bates said. “What we’ve been able to do is take our offices, and say hey, let’s work together.”
Juvenile justice was a major topic in 2023 after several high-profile shootings and crimes, including a mass shooting at the Brooklyn Homes community in Baltimore for which multiple teenagers face charges. Several months later in November, Baltimore police arrested two juveniles, ages 12 and 14, who assaulted, robbed and tried to steal a woman’s car, before being released several hours later.
Continued progress against gun violence in Baltimore. Significantly fewer lives were lost in 2023 after eight dreary years of 300-plus homicides each, and the trend is not merely organic. Several players made this happen: Anti-violence programs, like Roca, aimed directly at young men at highest risk of being shot (again, or for the first time); effective coordination of local, state and federal resources by the U.S. Attorney’s Office; successful prosecutions by the Maryland attorney general’s organized crime unit, and impressive results in homicide trials under Ivan Bates in his first year as Baltimore state’s attorney: As of Dec. 27, 136 guilty verdicts against 19 acquittals, according to his office.
