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July 8, 2017 - July 14, 2017, The Afro-American
BALTIMORE-AREA
Race and Politics
Behind Homicide Numbers, Real People, Real Stories Over the Fourth of July weekend we learned two high profile Baltimoreans, connected Sean Yoes intimately to Baltimore AFRO the criminal Editor justice syoes@afro.com system lost loved ones to violence. Baltimore Police spokesman, T.J. Smith delivers the horrific news of homicides, that devastates families, because it is part of his job. But, tragically for Smith on July 2, it was his turn to receive the dreaded news nobody wants to hear. Smith was actually working when he found out his younger brother, Dionay Smith, 24 was fatally shot. “Of course I’m upset, angry, mad, and all those things. But, I can only channel the negative into the positive and pray for the soul of the person responsible for this,” Smith said via Facebook. “He (the murderer) ruined his life for something small and petty, no doubt. So, many young people lack the foresight to understand the gravity of their poor decision making,” Smith added. According to Smith, his younger brother had three small children and was working two jobs to support his family. The day before Smith was murdered, yet another young Black man was gunned down, shot in the back in the early hours of July 1. And this one hurt me to my heart. The media has seized upon the fact that Louis “Cody” Young, 22, was the stepson of skilled defense
Behind every homicide “number” there’s a story and a family somewhere, whose world has been torn asunder. attorney Warren Brown. And I’ve covered Brown’s notable career for several years. But, I met Cody’s family even before I began reporting on Brown. I visited the house Cody grew up in, the morning of July 5, and sat with his grandfather, veteran attorney William Dorsey. His wife, Cody’s grandmother Betty (Ms. Betty to me), was still asleep. I sat in the family room of their home and stared at the walls filled with photos of their children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. There he was; Cody, that rambunctious little boy, with the mischievous grin and round face that lit up like the moon when he smiled broadly. Also, among the family
D1
Baltimore Homicides Rise with Brother of Police Spokesman, Stepson of Prominent Attorney
Baltimore Ceasefire August 4-6
Dionay Smith was fatally shot on July 2.
Louis “Cody” Young was killed July 1. Courtesy Photo
Courtesy Photo
By Michelle Richardson Special to the AFRO The younger brother of a Baltimore Police Department spokesman became the city’s 173rd homicide victim. Dionay Smith, 24, who was fatally shot on July 2, was found in his home around 8 p.m. in the 1400 block of Argyle Avenue. He is the younger brother of the police spokesman T.J. Smith. Police released surveillance video hoping the public can identify the suspect. Smith, who often informs the public about violent homicides, learned of his brother’s murder while on the job and he discussed his death in the context of his job in an emotional Facebook post. “For the last couple of years, I’ve notified the public of many tragedies, mostly death, specifically homicide, related. I’ve been on crime scenes and heard the wails of family members when they discover it’s their loved one who is deceased…On Sunday evening, one of the names that came to me was way too familiar. Dionay Smith. My brother, known as Dion, is the only person I’ve ever known with the name Dionay. Like many families who have been in that position, I was in denial. I immediately contacted investigators to learn more about the Dionay who was found deceased from a gunshot wound. I also did what is instinctual; I called his cell phone several times. Of course, there was no answer. However, I remained in denial,” Smith said. “Now this might sound like a cliche, but it is true- my brother was a good kid,” Smith said on Facebook. “He wasn’t ‘about that life.’ He worked two jobs, helped out Ericka AlstonBuck at the Kids Safe Zone in the past and he spent time with his kids. I used to tell him, ‘the busier you are, the less time and desire you’ll have to be on the streets,’” Smith added. Dionay Smith leaves behind three young children. The stepson of a well-known defense attorney was gunned down in the early hours of July 1. His stepdad said he wants the public to come forward with answers. Warren Brown held a press conference July 3, and spoke about the murder of his stepson, 22 year-old Louis “Cody” Young.
“They are like animals who are preying on innocent people and Cody was an innocent person, Cody was not part of the game. He was not a part of the streets,” Brown said. According to police, around 1:10 a.m. on July 1, a silver Volkswagen pulled into the BP gas station in the 3300 block of Garrison Boulevard in Northwest Baltimore. Police say two suspects jumped out of the vehicle and began shooting multiple times. Brown speculated his oldest son Matthew Brown, 27, may have been the target because he was with his stepbrother the night of the shooting at the gas station. Matthew Brown was arrested on human trafficking charges in 2015. Brown is offering $10,000 in reward money for any information leading to the arrest of those involved. Police have released surveillance video of the shooting in hopes that someone might come forward. – Warren Brown “This is a very much open investigation, we’re hoping someone from the community will recognize these suspects or have some sort of information that we can use to move this case forward and identify both suspects and make an arrest,” said Detective Jeremy Silbert, a spokesperson for Baltimore Police. Young was taken to an area hospital and died a short time later. Police said they do not have a motive for the shooting. “They are leaving carnage in their wake and they need to be caged like dangerous animals,” said Brown. The defense attorney says the $10,000 reward to solve his stepson’s murder will likely grow because other attorneys have volunteered to chip in. Brown added that he would not rely only on law enforcement officials to solve Young’s murder. “I represent people on the streets. I have people out there beating the bushes,” Brown said. Brown says he may use more discretion when he chooses who he represents as a defense attorney in the future. He says he may not be able to deal with people he believes target the innocent. “...For those who I look at and I can see, yeah this is a dangerous dude here...I think it’s not going to be my cup of tea, not anymore,” Brown said. “Especially when you’ve got innocent people involved.”
“They are like animals who are preying on innocent people…”
Lillian Elizabeth Thomas, 97
Bishop Thomas’ Mother Passes By AFRO Staff
Lillian Elizabeth Thomas, the mother of Bishop Walter Scott Thomas, pastor of New Psalmist Baptist Church, died June 28. She was 97 years old. Funeral services for Mother Thomas will be July 6, at New Shiloh Baptist Church, 2100 N. Monroe Street in West Baltimore. The wake for Mother Thomas will be at 10 a.m., and the homegoing service will take place at 11 a.m. Walter Scott Thomas has served in ministry since 1973 and he has been pastor of New Psalmist since 1975. During his leadership the church has grown from 200 members to more than 7,000 active members. photos on the Dorsey’s wall were numerous photos of Cody’s mother Donyelle Brown; from the time she was a baby, to a teenage beauty queen, a young bride and a young mother. Cody and his older sister Leah, were and still are the shining lights of her life. Cody, the rugged little boy with the mischievous grin, grew
up to be a big, strong young man and an outstanding football player. Donyelle was so proud of him. Now, the mother has to bury her only son because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Behind every homicide “number” there’s a story and a family somewhere, whose world has been torn asunder. Almost exactly 13 years
ago, June 22, 2004, me and my family found out my beloved mother, Leslie was murdered in her home. Her killer is unknown, her murder remains unsolved. Tragically, our story is only one of hundreds, thousands of families that have lost loved ones, irreplaceable, to the wanton violence Baltimore is Continued on D2
Courtesy Photo
7
Past Seven Days
A Family on the Frontlines (Part 1) By Bobby Marvin Holmes Special to the AFRO The family of Erricka Bridgeford, director of training for Community Mediation Maryland, and organizer of the, “Baltimore Ceasefire,” from August 4-6, has grappled with violence and homicide for decades. However, Bridgeford, her mother and brother have all chosen to work on the frontlines to combat the epidemic of violence and murder, which imperils our city. Erricka Bridgeford remembers the night gunshots woke her from her sleep when she was 12-years-old. She scurried from her bed to her window where she witnessed someone running into the court where she lived, screaming he had been shot. Pleading for help, the young man frantically knocked on her neighbor’s door, but no one answered. Bridgeford recalls him collapsing on the ground until help arrived. “When the ambulance [got] there, I can hear him from my window [say] ‘God, please don’t let me die. Please don’t let me die,’” she remembered. “ I watched the ambulance take him away and when I got home from school the next day the whole story in the neighborhood was that Mike [the young man who was shot] had died.” Throughout her life, gun violence would become a hard reality for Bridgeford’s community and ultimately her own family. Jerri and Mike Thomas, Bridgeford’s parents, moved her and her younger brother David to the Rosemont community in West Baltimore in the early 1970s. As they settled in a small public housing complex, the Thomas family would eventually grow to include two more boys, Nathan and Jonathan.
Continued on D2
177 2017 Total
Data as of July 5