R. Quackers
2017-12-02 01:51:03 UTC
BALTIMORE An indicted member of a disbanded Baltimore police unit
allegedly duped a fellow officer into discovering a cache of heroin he
planted in a car during a 2010 arrest, authorities alleged in a new
indictment announced Thursday.
Police Commissioner Kevin Davis later identified the betrayed officer
dubbed "Officer No. 1" in the indictment as Detective Sean Suiter,
who was fatally shot in the head with his own gun just over two weeks
ago while probing a triple homicide in a particularly rough West
Baltimore neighborhood. He was killed the day before he was set to
testify in an ongoing probe of the specialized gun recovery unit.
During a Thursday press conference, Davis told reporters that, back in
2010, Suiter was "set up" by indicted former officer Wayne Earl
Jenkins to discover planted narcotics. He said Suiter was "not
involved in any way, shape or form" in the deception.
Speaking of Jenkins, Davis said: "This guy was able to operate with
impunity on this police department for far too long."
On Friday, Davis announced that he was asking the FBI to take over the
investigation into the death of Det. Suiter.
"I am growing increasingly uncomfortable that my homicide detectives
and I do not know all the facts," said the commissioner. He called the
situation of a police officer homicide overlapping with a federal
corruption probe "unusual."
"The community needs to know that I am willing to invite any sets of
eyes or resources to look at this incident," said Davis.
Jenkins, 37, a former Baltimore police sergeant who is one of the
indicted members of Baltimore's disbanded Gun Trace Task Force and a
onetime supervisor of the squad, is one of eight Baltimore law
enforcers being investigated by a federal grand jury.
The elite unit was tasked with getting illegal guns off the streets of
Baltimore, but federal prosecutors say they used their position to
detain people on false pretenses, steal their money, fake police
reports, lie to investigators, and defraud their department.
If Thursday's indictment is proven, Jenkins also tricked a fellow
officer into finding narcotics he planted himself and wrongly put two
people behind bars for heroin possession charges.
A new five-count indictment announced Thursday by the acting U.S.
attorney and Baltimore's FBI special-agent-in-charge alleges that on
April 28, 2010, Jenkins was driving an unmarked police car with
another officer dubbed "Officer No. 1," who Davis confirmed was
Suiter. He allegedly told a third officer he was going to send Officer
No. 1 to search a suspect's car because he was "clueless" that drugs
had already been planted.
Umar Burley was convicted and sentenced to 15 years as a result of the
2010 arrest where 28 grams of heroin were found in 32 individual
packets. Brent Matthews was sentenced to nearly four years. They both
pleaded guilty despite knowing they were innocent, according to a
statement from the Department of Justice.
"Both men concluded that in a trial involving Sergeant Jenkins' word
against theirs, they would lose," the statement said.
Two lawyers for Burley, who was released from prison in August after
the government moved to reduce his sentence to time served, did not
immediately respond to phone calls or an email seeking comment.
Matthews was released from prison after 2 ½ years in 2013.
The 2010 arrest also followed a chaotic high-speed chase that resulted
in the death of an elderly man when Burley's car crashed.
Jenkins is currently detained awaiting a January trial on criminal
racketeering and fraud charges. If convicted, he now faces an
additional sentence of 20 years for the additional charges announced
Thursday.
As he has done repeatedly in recent days, Baltimore's police
commissioner stressed Thursday that Suiter was "never the target of an
FBI investigation."
Rumors about Suiter's unsolved Nov. 15 shooting in a vacant lot went
into overdrive last week when Davis confirmed that the acting U.S.
attorney and FBI informed him that the detective was gunned down the
day before he was expected to testify. According to CBS Baltimore,
Davis said authorities have no reason to believe that his death was
connected to that fact.
Police say he and his partner were in the rough Harlem Park
neighborhood canvassing for information when Suiter approached a
"suspicious" man in a vacant lot, leading to a violent confrontation
in which he was shot with his own gun. His partner can be seen on
private surveillance video taking cover across the street, according
to Davis.
Suiter was found clutching his radio. A brief radio transmission
indicated he was in distress and his clothes had signs of a "violent
struggle," according to Davis. Suiter died at a hospital a day later.
The detective's murder is unsolved. There is a $215,000 reward for
information leading to the shooter's arrest.
Suiter's funeral Wednesday drew thousands of mourners, shutting down
major roads and bringing law enforcement officials from as far away as
Chicago.
Maryland U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, who represents the West
Baltimore neighborhood where Detective Suiter was killed, met
Wednesday with FBI Director Christopher Wray in Washington, D.C. and
asked him "to use every resource available" to assist Baltimore City
Police in finding Detective Suiter's killer, reports CBS Baltimore.
"There are all types of rumors going on in the streets, and I think
that we need a very thorough investigation," Cummings said. "I told
the director that we must follow the evidence wherever it may lead,
and I want him to put a microscope on this investigation."
"The idea that Officer Suiter was murdered the night before he was
supposed to provide federal grand jury testimony, a lot of people are
concerned about that, and I got the impression listening to the head
of the FBI that they are concerned about it, too," Cummings told the
station.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/officials-indicted-ex-baltimore-cop-set-up-slain-officer-to-find-drugs-in-2010/
allegedly duped a fellow officer into discovering a cache of heroin he
planted in a car during a 2010 arrest, authorities alleged in a new
indictment announced Thursday.
Police Commissioner Kevin Davis later identified the betrayed officer
dubbed "Officer No. 1" in the indictment as Detective Sean Suiter,
who was fatally shot in the head with his own gun just over two weeks
ago while probing a triple homicide in a particularly rough West
Baltimore neighborhood. He was killed the day before he was set to
testify in an ongoing probe of the specialized gun recovery unit.
During a Thursday press conference, Davis told reporters that, back in
2010, Suiter was "set up" by indicted former officer Wayne Earl
Jenkins to discover planted narcotics. He said Suiter was "not
involved in any way, shape or form" in the deception.
Speaking of Jenkins, Davis said: "This guy was able to operate with
impunity on this police department for far too long."
On Friday, Davis announced that he was asking the FBI to take over the
investigation into the death of Det. Suiter.
"I am growing increasingly uncomfortable that my homicide detectives
and I do not know all the facts," said the commissioner. He called the
situation of a police officer homicide overlapping with a federal
corruption probe "unusual."
"The community needs to know that I am willing to invite any sets of
eyes or resources to look at this incident," said Davis.
Jenkins, 37, a former Baltimore police sergeant who is one of the
indicted members of Baltimore's disbanded Gun Trace Task Force and a
onetime supervisor of the squad, is one of eight Baltimore law
enforcers being investigated by a federal grand jury.
The elite unit was tasked with getting illegal guns off the streets of
Baltimore, but federal prosecutors say they used their position to
detain people on false pretenses, steal their money, fake police
reports, lie to investigators, and defraud their department.
If Thursday's indictment is proven, Jenkins also tricked a fellow
officer into finding narcotics he planted himself and wrongly put two
people behind bars for heroin possession charges.
A new five-count indictment announced Thursday by the acting U.S.
attorney and Baltimore's FBI special-agent-in-charge alleges that on
April 28, 2010, Jenkins was driving an unmarked police car with
another officer dubbed "Officer No. 1," who Davis confirmed was
Suiter. He allegedly told a third officer he was going to send Officer
No. 1 to search a suspect's car because he was "clueless" that drugs
had already been planted.
Umar Burley was convicted and sentenced to 15 years as a result of the
2010 arrest where 28 grams of heroin were found in 32 individual
packets. Brent Matthews was sentenced to nearly four years. They both
pleaded guilty despite knowing they were innocent, according to a
statement from the Department of Justice.
"Both men concluded that in a trial involving Sergeant Jenkins' word
against theirs, they would lose," the statement said.
Two lawyers for Burley, who was released from prison in August after
the government moved to reduce his sentence to time served, did not
immediately respond to phone calls or an email seeking comment.
Matthews was released from prison after 2 ½ years in 2013.
The 2010 arrest also followed a chaotic high-speed chase that resulted
in the death of an elderly man when Burley's car crashed.
Jenkins is currently detained awaiting a January trial on criminal
racketeering and fraud charges. If convicted, he now faces an
additional sentence of 20 years for the additional charges announced
Thursday.
As he has done repeatedly in recent days, Baltimore's police
commissioner stressed Thursday that Suiter was "never the target of an
FBI investigation."
Rumors about Suiter's unsolved Nov. 15 shooting in a vacant lot went
into overdrive last week when Davis confirmed that the acting U.S.
attorney and FBI informed him that the detective was gunned down the
day before he was expected to testify. According to CBS Baltimore,
Davis said authorities have no reason to believe that his death was
connected to that fact.
Police say he and his partner were in the rough Harlem Park
neighborhood canvassing for information when Suiter approached a
"suspicious" man in a vacant lot, leading to a violent confrontation
in which he was shot with his own gun. His partner can be seen on
private surveillance video taking cover across the street, according
to Davis.
Suiter was found clutching his radio. A brief radio transmission
indicated he was in distress and his clothes had signs of a "violent
struggle," according to Davis. Suiter died at a hospital a day later.
The detective's murder is unsolved. There is a $215,000 reward for
information leading to the shooter's arrest.
Suiter's funeral Wednesday drew thousands of mourners, shutting down
major roads and bringing law enforcement officials from as far away as
Chicago.
Maryland U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, who represents the West
Baltimore neighborhood where Detective Suiter was killed, met
Wednesday with FBI Director Christopher Wray in Washington, D.C. and
asked him "to use every resource available" to assist Baltimore City
Police in finding Detective Suiter's killer, reports CBS Baltimore.
"There are all types of rumors going on in the streets, and I think
that we need a very thorough investigation," Cummings said. "I told
the director that we must follow the evidence wherever it may lead,
and I want him to put a microscope on this investigation."
"The idea that Officer Suiter was murdered the night before he was
supposed to provide federal grand jury testimony, a lot of people are
concerned about that, and I got the impression listening to the head
of the FBI that they are concerned about it, too," Cummings told the
station.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/officials-indicted-ex-baltimore-cop-set-up-slain-officer-to-find-drugs-in-2010/