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Murders This Week: 4
Murders This Year: 231

The death of Virginia Jones, an 82-year-old African-American woman, was added to the homicide tally this week. On May 16, Jones called police because her husband, William Jones, had hit her in the face and shook her. Virginia Jones told police that her husband, who suffered from dementia, had stopped taking his medication and began having violent outbursts. The police took William Jones to Sinai Hospital for a medical evaluation. Virginia Jones refused medical treatment. She then went to her sister's home in Calvert County and started suffering from severe headaches. She went to an area hospital where they discovered she had a serious brain injury. She was transferred to Georgetown Medical Center, where she died on June 3 at 10:45 a.m. Her death has been deemed a result of the attack. William Jones died at a nursing home on Aug. 9 from his dementia.

Tuesday, Sept. 25

12:49 p.m. The body of Keith Ray, a 24-year-old African-American man, was found under a pile of wood in Wyman Park. He had been shot in the head. This is the second dead body found just outside of Hampden in three days.

6:30 p.m. That evening, Richard Ray, a 37-year-old African-American man who is not related to Keith Ray, was stabbed to death in the 5200 block of Fairlawn Avenue in Northwest Baltimore. According to witnesses, Ray was trying to sell some stolen property when he got into an argument with another man, who stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. Ray died at Sinai Hospital half an hour later.

Wednesday, Sept. 26

9:51 a.m. Police found Alfred Smith, a 56-year-old African-American man, lying in the 600 block of Brice Street in Midtown-Edmondson. A blood trail ran two blocks to the 700 block of Appleton Street where Smith had been stabbed in the thigh. The stabbing severed an artery. Smith died at Bon Secours Hospital at 10:40 a.m. There have been four other murders this year within two blocks of where Smith was stabbed.

Friday, Sept. 28

2:15 p.m. Jason Fortune, a 24-year-old African-American man, was sitting in the 800 block of Fremont Avenue near Lafayette Square while his car was being washed. Someone riding down the street on a bicycle shot him several times and rode away. Fortune died at Maryland Shock Trauma Center at 2:40 p.m.

Updates

According to police, the death of Darryl Harcum, a 45-year-old African-American man, has been removed from the homicide total. Harcum was shot by a police officer while allegedly trying to stab his brother. The shooting was ruled justified. His removal from the homicide tally accounts for last week’s discrepancy between this column’s homicide number and the one given by the Baltimore Police Department.

On Sept. 20, Zukael Stephens, a 19-year-old African-American man, was found not guilty of murder and arson charges for the death of Marcus Rogers, a 26-year-old African-American man. Rogers was beaten, his skull was cracked, and his Mount Vernon apartment was set on fire on Oct. 11, 2006. He died six days later.

On Sept. 25, Timothy Izzard, a 50-year-old African-American man, pleaded guilty to the murder of Freddie Thornton, a 69-year-old African-American man, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. According to the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, Izzard got into an accident in Anne Arundel County on Dec. 23, 2006. When police arrived he claimed to be Thornton, who owned the car Izzard was driving. Police determined he was not Thornton and that Izzard’s license had been suspended. Police gave Izzard traffic tickets and let him go. A few hours later, Thornton’s body was discovered by someone walking in Leakin Park. Thornton was wearing nothing but his underwear and had been stabbed 37 times. Izzard was arrested four days later.

Patrick Wilkes, a 23-year-old African-American man, and Anthony White, a 23-year-old African-American man, were charged with two additional murders this month. Both men had already been charged with the May 15 murder of Deandre Salmond, a 19-year-old African-American man. On Sept. 13, they were charged with the April 18 fatal shooting of Johnnie James, a 25-year-old African-American man, and on Sept. 26 they were charged with the May 5 murder of Adrian Beasley, a 23-year-old African-American man. Beasley was also shot in the head.

Also on the 26th, police arrested Michael Blackwell, a 27-year-old African-American man, at his girlfriend’s house. Blackwell was charged with shooting 17-year-old Davon Qualls, an African-American male, in the head on Sept. 4, killing him.

Melvin Jones, a 53-year-old African-American man, pleaded guilty on Sept. 27 to the murder of Irvin Harris, an 11-year-old African-American boy. According to the State’s Attorney’s Office, Harris’ mother filed a missing person’s report after he went missing on July 28, 2006. He was last seen with Jones. Jones’ daughter told police that her father had said he killed Harris and revealed where the boy’s body could be found, behind a church on Belair Road. Harris had been stabbed 21 times. Jones received 50 years in prison. Criminal charges were also brought against the boy’s mother, Shanda Harris, a 42-year-old African-American woman. On Sept. 6, she pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and other charges for allegedly allowing Jones, whom she knew was a convicted child sex offender, access to her children.

On Sept. 28, Kenneth Mahai, a 28-year-old African-American man, was sentenced to life in prison for the Oct. 25, 2005, murder of Jermaine Morrison, a 24-year-old African-American man. According to the State’s Attorney’s Office, four days after Morrison was released from jail for narcotics, he and Mahai got into an argument over drug territory. Mahai allegedly stabbed Morrison twice in the chest, killing him. Mahai was initially indicted in April 2006, but the charges were dropped due to alleged witness intimidation leading to a witness leaving the state. The witness was eventually located and Mahai was tried and convicted in August.

Also on Sept. 28, Mark Lee Johnson, a 26-year-old African-American man, was convicted of the Jan. 22, 2006, murder of Antwoine Armstead, a 21-year-old African-American man. According to the State’s Attorney’s Office Johnson shot at Armstead while he was getting into a parked car.

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