“It would be impossible to script a more heartbreaking, tragic set of facts than those in the murder of Carmen Rodriguez,” said Baltimore Circuit Judge Jennifer Schiffer, describing Rodriguez, 36, as a beautiful, hard-working mother of four. “The Rodriguez children watched their mother get gunned down in front of them three days before Christmas.”
Tiffany Jones was abducted at knife point from the back of a Family Dollar on Potee Street and taken away in a Chevy pickup.
On January 24, around 1:18 a.m., Barnett was seen walking in the 1900 block of Ashton Street, attempting to break into vacant rowhomes. He was only successful breaking into one house and was seen leaving with multiple items in his hands.
An initial investigation by Baltimore Police led to the seizure of 1,145 vials of cocaine, 1505 gel capsules of fentanyl, and firearms, according to Bates.
As of 10 days ago, Baltimore police began issuing citations for so called “quality of life crimes,” a departure from the previous policy of the State’s Attorney and police. Citations for crimes like riding a dirt bike, public drunkenness, loitering, aggressive panhandling, trespassing and malicious destruction of property will now be handled on a special docket that is intended to offer those who are cited an alternative to prosecution and jail time.
That wasn't the case in 2023, and the elimination of that so-called 'summer spike' is the driving force behind Baltimore's overall progress at reducing yearly homicides, data shows. That reduction came in the first full summer since Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates took office and U.S. Attorney Erek Barron announced an aggressive, "Al Capone" strategy to target repeat violent offenders.
Yet enforcement has its place. When police officers look the other way over petty crimes that can still seriously impact qualify of life, a message is sent that the people of Baltimore don’t really care if you urinate in public or get drunk in public. Have at it. Unless boundaries are enforced — in a reasonable manner, appropriate to the crime — they often will inevitably be exceeded. That’s not an argument for locking everyone up, but it is a case for the citations Bates is authorizing, which carry consequences not just for offenders but for their parents, too, in certain cases.
Police planned to execute a search and seizure warrant at his home on the day of the shooting, but a scheduling conflict pushed back the date.
Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates joins The C4 and Bryan Nehman Show.
