UPDATE (4:45 p.m.)—Baltimore County police have charged four men in the December .
Rodney Vest Pridget, 19, was , just outside of . Police found his body lying on the exterior sidewalk outside with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the police.
Detectives believe Tyrone Chester Brown Jr., 19, of the 3900 block of Lowndes Avenue in Baltimore gunned down Pridget.
Frank Theodore Williams, 31, of the 2900 block of Lakebrook Circle in Halethorpe, Jermell Monte Brandon, 35, of the 700 block of Belgian Avenue in Baltimore and William Ward III, 44, of the 600 block of Cator Avenue, also of Baltimore, and Brown, were all charged with first-degree murder and the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony, according to court documents.
"One of the four suspects is in the mall, spots the victim, picks up his phone and calls his three buddies who are down off of York Road in Baltimore City. The other three drive up to the mall," said Baltimore County police spokeswoman Elise Armacost. (Continue reading below for a timeline of the events leading up to the murder.)
Three of the suspects were arrested Wednesday. Ward was arrested Thursday.
“Our homicide detectives have been working tirelessly on this case since the night it happened,” police Chief Jim Johnson said in a news release. “The footage from the video cameras in and around the mall was critical in helping them solve this case. These arrests demonstrate the value of the legislation passed by the county several years ago requiring these cameras in shopping centers.”
"While the victim was clearly targeted, the reason for the murder has not yet been determined," according to the release.
Police were able to recreate the incidents leading up to the murder by stringing together surveillance footage from several hundred vantage points in the mall, according to charging documents obtained by Patch.
The suspects are being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center.
The killing was the first murder at the mall since 2005, when William Bassett, a St. Paul's School teacher and administrator, was gunned down in a garage, the victim of a botched robbery. The incident prompted a 2005 County Council bill requiring that shopping centers set up cameras covering at least 75 percent of their outdoor space.
The Timeline:
Brandon, one of the suspects, entered the Downtown Locker Room with his cousin at 5:11 p.m. Minutes later, Brandon saw Rodney Pridget and his girlfriend enter the store.
Brandon called Williams, who was in East Baltimore at the time, according to the charging documents. This was the first of several calls over the afternoon as Williams drove to the Towson Town Center.
Williams was seen on camera driving and parking a burgundy-colored vehicle in the parking garage near Macy's. A passenger, referred to as "UNC" (later identified as William Ward) in the charging documents, was seen exiting the vehicle, along with Williams, and entering Macy's.
"A phone call from Williams prompts the alleged shooter Tyrone Brown to exit the car and walk into Macy's," the charging documents state.
The suspects coordinated a meet up in the mall, at the bottom of the stairs near the food court. The three walked together toward Nordstrom where Pridget and his girlfriend were.
Brandon and "UNC" then began following "a short distance" behind the victim and his girlfriend through Nordstrom. Brown followed a short distance behind his alleged conspirators.
"They're not necessarily all in a group. They scatter a bit, but they're all four tracking the victim," Armacost said.
Pridget and his girlfriend were seen on camera walking out of the store toward Goucher Boulevard.
"Just as the victim is seen walking to the left, defendant Brandon and UNC approach the exit doors. UNC turns back toward the shooter [Brown], says something to him, and points to the direction where the victim just walked," the documents state.
At this time, Brandon waited inside Nordstrom within eyesight of the exit doors.
Pridget's girlfriend said Brown came up behind them and shot Pridget several times. The gunmen then turned and ran back inside the mall toward Nordstrom.
The three suspects walked the entire length of the mall before exiting. Brandon and UNC separated from Brown and left the mall together in the same vehicle.
Tyler Waldman contributed to this report. Stay with Patch for more details.
I agree with you about the comments that M. Sullivan made about the race of the victim and the alleged perps. If you read any of my other postings you have probably surmised that I am not black. But I do have many black friends and they have teenage sons. I fear for their safety every day because it seems that the thugs who exist in our community (both inside and outside of Baltimore City) have little or no respect for the lives of young black men (whether the prospective victim is a criminal or not). I have the feeling that the thugs' lack of care for the lives of their victims make the sons of my black friends more of a target than white teenagers because it does seem that everyone wants to write off the lives of young black men as worthless. And, if their lives are worthless, then the thugs presume that the police will not investigate such crimes as enthusiastically as they would a crime committed against a white victim. I can assure you, and all other black readers, that this is ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE.
This makes the entire incident very curious indeed. When I first heard about this case, I thought that it might be a drug deal or armed robbery gone bad. But if it was, then it seems like it was new to each of these individuals. Who knows what happened? Perhaps the alleged gunman had a firearm and he wanted to see if it would really kill. This trial will be an interesting one to watch.
You are correct that more murders are committed by whites than by blacks and more whites are on welfare than blacks. This is brought up all the time by those who try to avoid the truth. However, let's look at percentages. Of the 313 million peoplen in the U.S. 64% are white and 12% are black. Yet, while 46% of all homocides are committed by whites, 52% are committed by blacks. Blacks, who are 1/8 of the U.S. population, are committing more than HALF of all the murders. Additionally, 94% of these murders are black-on-black crimes. I am not making these numbers up. Given these statistics, how can it be racist when I am not surprised that these suspects are black? Regarding your welfare comment: Once again, you are correct when looking at the absolute numbers of white and black on welfare. However, once again, while blacks and whites each compose 40% of the welfare rolls, blacks are only 12% of the U.S. population. So, 1/8 of the population is using 40% of the welfare. I won't even address the percentages of the prison population. These are the documented statistics that I am not making up. They can only be changed by you. You can call me a racist if you like. That's the easy out for you. Perceptions are formed by a basis in reality.
The bottom line here is that 5 criminals (the late Mr. Pridget) and these four imbeciles are now off the street and will be off the street for an extended period of time. The bad news is that our tax dollars will be going to pay for their trial, incarceration, and care for these lowlifes, er I mean, budding rap artists, future NBA players, and music producers each of whom was JUST on the brink of turning their lives around. Tempus fugit, momento morti.
As you might imagine, I disagree with your reasons for removing my initial comment which started this discussion. It was merely an observation based on past history and the statistics which I quoted later in the discussion. Part of the problem with the media today is this "head in the sand" attitude where, if race is mentioned, and it is at all disparaging to certain special races, then the screaming of "racism" begins. Most times when a crime is reported and a description of the criminal is given, the race is not mentioned. How helpful is that? This endless tiptoeing around this subject due to the fear from mob reaction results in failure to shine the light on the problems. On the other hand, if I had made the same statement and used the word "white" instead of "black", I guarantee the comment would not have been removed. Such is the state of the media today.
So, stop your whining about racial profiling and get your people to stop committing all overwhelming number of violent crimes in this area. If I see a group of young black males coming towards me, I will cross the street in a heart beat. If that makes me a racist, so be it. Whose fault is that? Black males. Not the white boogeyman, so stop trying to cast blame where it doesn't belong.