Only Suspect In Brooklyn Homes Mass Shooting -- a Teen Held Without Bond On Misdemeanor Charges -- Now Accused of Inciting a Riot

Baltimore Prosecutors Filed the New Charges in the Circuit Court Case Against the Youth, Who has No Criminal Record Nor Past Run-Ins with the Law.

Attorney Michael S. Clinkscale represents the 17-year-old being held without bond on misdemeanor charges in connection with the July 2 Brooklyn Homes mass shooting. (Photo: LinkedIn)

By Gary Gately

The only suspect in the Brooklyn Homes mass shooting, a 17-year-old high school senior being held without bond on misdemeanor charges, now faces two criminal counts of inciting a riot, his attorney confirmed Saturday.

But the attorney, Michael S. Clinkscale, said that in the Baltimore Circuit Court case against the teen, he no longer faces two of the original charges he had faced in District Court: possession of an assault weapon and reckless endangerment. The Baltimore Sun and Fox Baltimore report this afternoon that the youth still faces the charges of possession of an assault weapon and reckless endangerment.

Clinkscale said the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Offices filed the two new charges Thursday.

In charging documents accusing the teen of inciting a riot, prosecutors alleged that he, along with others police have not identified, “did carry out a common purpose of disturbing the peace in a terrifying manner.” The two new charges are also misdemeanors, making this case exceptional in the annals of Baltimore criminal justice history in some ways: 

A 17-year-old, with no run-ins with the law, a high school senior who lives with his mother near Brooklyn Homes, is being held without bond on misdemeanor charges. They include three weapons possession charges, when police have seized no weapon as probable cause, and, in fact, police were nowhere in sight when gunfire tore through Brooklyn Homes early July 2 during an annual community celebration where more than 700 people crowded the streets.

Neither police nor prosecutors have alleged that the teen fired a weapon.

And prosecutors who allege weapons possession have presented no weapon as evidence against the youth.

Clinkscale says videos police and prosecutors cite as evidence show the teen with what the attorney says is a toy gun that shoots water pellets.

“Baltimore City Police were derelict in their duty to protect the public,” Clinkscale said Saturday. “They were not at Brooklyn Homes prior to nor at the time of this horrific incident, and they are attempting to pin this tragedy on this young man without any evidence to support the charges against him.”

The Baltimore Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Baltimore Observer.

Baltimore District Court Judge Kent J. Boles Jr. ordered the teen held without bond during a brief hearing on July 10, citing “clear and convincing evidence the defendant would pose a risk to public safety.”

“Baltimore City Police were derelict in their duty to protect the public…. and they are attempting to pin this tragedy on this young man without any evidence to support the charges against him.” — Attorney Michael S. Clinkscale

Boles cited charging documents, in which police said six rounds recovered at the scene could have been fired by a “rifle-caliber pistol” the teenage suspect pulled from his bag. Police said they drew that conclusion from video footage from the scene. 

Presumably, the “rifle-caliber pistol” led to the assault weapons possession count the youth no longer faces.

Clinkscale said the teen had been wounded in the gunfire that erupted about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, July 2, at Brooklyn Homes, killing two people and wounding 28 others, 23 of them teens.

The attorney had asked Boles to place the teen on home detention or release him on his own recognizance.

But Brandon Jones, an assistant state’s attorney, warned against doing so, telling the judge: “This is an extremely serious case, and the defendant poses an extreme threat to public safety.”

After the hearing, Clinkscale then moved for a jury trial in Circuit Court.

Related stories:

• Richard Worley, Baltimore’s Acting Police Commissioner, Says He's Sorry for BPD's Monumental Failings In Brooklyn Homes Tragedy

• Maybe it’s partly an Irish-Catholic thing for me (a fallen-away Catholic too much of my life, I admit), but I respect Richard Worley for attempting to make a good (and very public) confession.

• Judge Denies Bond to 17-Year-Old Held In Connection with Brooklyn Homes Mass Shooting That Left Two Dead and 28 Wounded

• FIRST-PERSON: Justice? A judge denies bond for a 17-year-old charged with three counts of weapons possession, including possession of an assault weapon. The sole evidence of possession of a weapon?

• Baltimore Police Finally Make a First Arrest In Connection with One of the Worst Mass Shootings In City History

• Dispatch from Brooklyn, and Brooklyn Day, In Baltimore. My Hometown, You Make Me Weep After Carnage Inflicted at a Community Celebration of Hundreds with Nary a Cop In Sight.

• FIRST-PERSON: Turns Out, Real Newspapermen Do Cry Sometimes. At Least This One Does.

• The Baltimore Observer is looking for a few good interns. No pay. Cranky editor, real pain in the ass at times, but one who might be able to teach you things worth knowing. I’m particularly interested in those who know their city well, and if that’s partly through mistakes, even ones that led them to commit crimes, but they’re past that, perfect. Love to hear from you.

• Thank you for reading The Baltimore Observer. I'm overjoyed to be covering my hometown again, and I'm so grateful to all of you who have reached out to me and subscribed. A look back at the newsletter's debut this week. "It's good to be back. It's good to be." Amen, Keith Richards. I would agree. Sun, Banner, other media: Game on.

  Thanks again for reading The Baltimore Observer. If you have suggestions to improve the newsletter, news tips, story ideas or would like to pitch a first-person piece, I would love to hear from you. — Gary Gately, Editor, garymichaelgately@gmail.com, 410-382-4364.

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