Young Female Murder Suspect Fired Shot After Robbery Victim Laughed, Police Say
Baltimore Sun, August 25, 2010
The 14-year-old girl charged with fatally shooting a man during a robbery attempt earlier this month fired her gun when one of the victims laughed at her because she was so young, according to police charging documents filed this morning.
Prosecutors, in seeking the young suspect be held without bail, described Arteesha Holt in court papers as a “flight risk and a danger to the citizens of Baltimore.” The young girl is charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, using a handgun in the commission of a violent crime and several other offenses.
Police have said the girl may have tried to rob two men on Linwood Avenue on Aug. 13 as part of a gang initiation. The victims were among three Latino men killed in recent weeks in a spate of crimes that has shaken the community in Southeast Baltimore.
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Bonilla [Wilmer Bonilla, a witness] told police, according to the charging documents, that he and Gonzalez were sitting on the steps when a young girl armed with a silver handgun approached and announced a robbery. “Because of the age of the suspect the victims began to laugh at which time the suspect fired one shot grazing the victim Wilmer Bonilla’s head and striking Jose Coreas in the center of his forehead.”
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Police said they identified Holt as a suspect because she had told several friends and bystanders about her involvement and that her 18-year-old brother had helped her escape from the neighborhood. But she gave the gun to her brother, according to police, and he kept the .32 caliber revolver in a black bag.
Police said the brother showed the gun to people and later was seen by police officers carrying the bag. Officer stopped the brother and arrested him on a handgun violation. They said investigators later linked the gun to the shooting.
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[Editor’s Note: An earlier story about black-on-Hispanic shootings in Baltimore can be read here.]
