A Maryland community is reeling after police say a teenage suspect gunned down a 15-year-old girl and her 9-year-old brother inside their home just days after he may have joined the family in celebrating Independence Day.
Authorities have been investigating the July 7 double homicide at the familys residence on Talles Road in Randallstown. According to The Blaze, the case has intensified debate over youth violence and the justice systems handling of dangerous juvenile offenders.
This is obviously an unspeakable tragedy. On Wednesday morning, officers arrested 17-year-old Keith James Jr. at his West Baltimore home and charged him with two counts of first-degree murder and a firearms offense, Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough announced.
Police say James had some form of relationship with 15-year-old victim Giovanna Myrie but declined to specify whether it was romantic. Charging documents state that Myrie had sought help after James allegedly threatened to kill her if she messed around with other males.
Investigators allege James shot Myrie, who was discovered in her bedroom, and her younger brother, Steve Allen, whose body was found in a hallway. Their mother discovered the children at about 7:20 a.m. and immediately contacted law enforcement.
This is obviously an unspeakable tragedy. Our hearts and sympathies are with the victims and their families, defense attorney Brian Thompson said, even as he prepared to represent the accused teen. Detectives, meanwhile, built their case using witness statements, surveillance footage, and cellphone data to place James near the crime scene.
Police believe the suspect used public transportation to travel from his West Baltimore residence to the Randallstown home. He was on camera in several ways throughout the community, McCullough said. He had been in the area prior to the crime, and of course, he was in the area after the crime.
A friend of Myries told investigators she saw James holding a handgun during a FaceTime call with the girl while he was at the home, a detail that underscores the premeditated nature of the attack described in court records. The suspects attorney asked that James be housed in a juvenile facility, but the judge rejected that request, and he is being held without bond as a community demands accountability and questions a system that too often releases violent offenders back onto the streets.
Login