By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com
On May 21, Baltimore County Police Officer Amy Caprio was doing her job when she confronted a male in a Jeep suspected of being part of a burglary in the Perry Hall community of Baltimore County.
Caprio ordered the driver of the car, 16-year old Dawnta Harris to exit the Jeep. He didn’t; instead, Harris allegedly hit the accelerator and ran over Caprio where she stood, according to police. Officer Caprio, who would have celebrated four years in the department in July, died of her injuries at the Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center. The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide by multiple trauma to the head and torso.
The death of Officer Caprio is a horrible tragedy; her family is never going to see her again and who knows what great things this young woman could have accomplished in her life.
Sean Yoes (Courtesy Photo)
But, that’s not where the tragedy ends in this case. Harris, if convicted will most likely take his last breath behind the walls of a correctional facility. Many believe that if that is Harris’ fate, then justice will be served. Others believe Harris deserves the death penalty and if Maryland still had the capital punishment statute still on the books, that should be his fate.
All of the above may be true, but ultimately, Harris did what many 16-year olds do; he made a horrible choice, one that had catastrophic consequences.
The three teen boys, ages 15, 16 and 17, that were allegedly robbing that house in Perry Hall, while Harris waited in the getaway vehicle, also made horrible choices and all three are also being charged as adults with felony murder and burglary, according to WBAL-TV investigative reporter Jayne Miller. I realize that charging all of these boys as adults with murder, although only one is really guilty of running over Officer Caprio is legally tenable, but is it right?
Veteran Baltimore defense attorney A. Dwight Pettit says he saw a similar story play out almost 20 years ago.
“In 2001, I had one of the biggest cases in Baltimore and the state of Maryland at the time,” Pettit told me over the phone.
“Eric Stennett was allegedly shooting at somebody in West Baltimore…he fled police…he was doing 104 miles an hour in a Ford Bronco, he hits the officer, runs over the cop and kills him,” Pettit explained.
Specifically, the police officer, 27-year old Kevon Gavin was killed when he pulled his police cruiser in front of Stennett driving the much larger vehicle at over 100 miles per hour.
“They charged him (Stennett) with first degree murder, second degree murder and everything else,” recalled Pettit. “There was no place for the vehicle to go traveling at 104 miles an hour, there was no intent no pre meditation.”
The point Pettit is making is that police and prosecutors in all their zeal to throw the book at Stennett and get a conviction for killing a cop, made several mistakes in the investigation and the trial and overcharged Stennett. Ultimately, the jury acquitted Stennett, who was 18 at the time of the accident that killed Officer Gavin.
“The jury…they just believed in their (police, prosecutors) haste, and emotional outcry didn’t present a case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Pettit said.
Stennett did have another run in with the law according to Pettit after the incident where Officer Gavin was killed, but he appears to have steered clear of trouble ever since.
“He’s grown up to be a very productive young man, who got a break because the jury acquitted him and changed his life,” Pettit said.
The four teens charged as adults with murder in the killing of Officer Caprio more than likely won’t get the chance Stennett got.
“I think they are talking about felony murder and in Baltimore County that is not unreasonable, because it will be a conservative jury,” Pettit said. “They look at it as a political football and don’t think of the evidence and they dramatically over charge. It’s a political statement on behalf of police…crying out for blood and in Baltimore County they are going to have a very emotional judge and jury behind them.”
Sean Yoes is the Baltimore AFRO Editor and host and executive producer of the AFRO First Edition video podcast, which airs Monday and Friday at 5:00 p.m. on the AFRO’s Facebook page.
