Post by Scumhunter on Nov 19, 2016 0:36:28 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: FBI.Gov)
As a pastor at Annapolis' New Creation Deliverance Church, the Rev. Charles Carroll has buried the children of his parishioners who have fallen to gun violence.
But Carroll never expected one of his children would become a victim.
Carroll's 25-year-old son, Charles Carroll Jr., was gunned down July 28 in the city's Bywater Mutual Homes community. For the past few months the pastor's family has bee_n grieving the loss, while city investigators have been working to bring those responsible to justice.
"I wouldn't wish this on nobody," Carroll said. "I'd never thought it could happen to me."
At a news conference at Annapolis police headquarters Friday morning, Police Chief Michael Pristoop announced that the agency is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person, or persons, responsible in Carroll's death. The money is being provided as part of a partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pristoop said.
Pristoop said that to his knowledge the reward was the largest of its kind in city history.
"To have (the FBI) offer this kind of money is significant and unprecedented," Pristoop said.
The chief acknowledged that it was rare to involve the federal agency in "person-to-person violent crime," but said that the agency hopes to seek the FBI's assistance in more cases moving forward.
So far in 2016, there have been nine homicides in the city — the most of any year in recorded history. Carroll's death is one of three cases that have remained unsolved.
Police have also not made arrests in the April homicides of Charles King and Deandre Wayman.
Information from the public played a critical role in closing the six other homicides this year, Pristoop said.
"We are depending on the community, depending on the public, to provide information," he said. "There are people that saw this, people who are reluctant to come forward."
Police and FBI agents were planning to canvass Friday near the area where Carroll was found shot.
The 25-year-old was found shot inside a vehicle after crashing into a home on Royal Street around 9:30 p.m. July 28. His father has been a vocal advocate against gun violence, even organizing a gun drive in the weeks leading up to Carroll Jr.'s death.
He was raised in Brooklyn, where he lived with his mother, Beverly Reed. Reed also attended Friday's press conference.
"I just don't want no other parents to go through what I'm going through," she told reporters.
In an interview with The Capital shortly after Carroll Jr.'s death, Reed said that the 25-year-old had recently earned his high school diploma through Anne Arundel Community College's Step Up to Success program.
Carroll had been working on improving his life after a number of previous run-ins with the law, his mother said in July.
He was convicted of possession of narcotics with the intent to distribute in 2012, and was sentenced to serve five years in prison, online court records show. He was also convicted of a 2008 armed robbery, and was sentenced to a four-year suspended prison term, according to court records.
Reed and Carroll expressed gratitude to the FBI and city police for making the reward available.
"I'm pleading that the community come forward and help us," Carroll said.
The reward was announced the morning after Pristoop sought to reassure Eastport residents that the department has a handle on crime in the city despite a spike in violence this year that has included a batch of shootings in the Eastport neighborhood this month.
He said that much of the city's violent crime has been interpersonal, meaning the suspects and victims know each other, and spurred by heroin dealing.
"This year, what we're seeing is a couple groups, because of the heroin trade, that are fighting among each other, and we know who they are," Pristoop said.
He said the department has been partnering with the county State Attorney's Office and other agencies such as the FBI to close cases. He predicted the violence would drop next year.
And the reward comes a few days after Mayor Mike Pantelides and at least two members of the City Council said they would support adding police officers.
Pristoop has tied the rise in violent crime in the city to a proliferation of illegal firearms. His officers have recovered about 70 guns so far this year, which Pristoop estimates to be the second-most in the past decade.
Last year, officers recovered 90 guns, he said.
Pristoop also said the department has been working with the Annapolis housing authority on crime prevention, including reinstating a banning policy that could ban certain offenders from public housing upon their arrest. Bywater Mutual Homes is not a housing authority property.
Carroll said earlier this year that despite police efforts, his community wants police to be more visible in high-crime areas — not just after an incident or a crime.
"They don't feel like they're getting the protection from the city and the police department in terms of preventive measures," Carroll said. "If the police are there, then maybe some of this stuff wouldn't happen."
Anyone with information in Carroll Jr.'s death is encouraged to call Annapolis police at 443-986-5561 or the FBI's Baltimore Field Office at 410-265-8080.
www.capitalgazette.com/news/for_the_record/ph-ac-cn-carroll-reward-1119-20161118-story.html
Official FBI link: www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/charles-edward-carroll-jr
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