A 16-year-old male was charged with first-degree murder for the Monday death of a female Baltimore police officer and will be tried as an adult, Baltimore County officials announced Tuesday.
Dawnta Anthony Harris, 16, was arrested Monday afternoon after Officer Amy Caprio was killed in Nottingham, Md., approximately 10 miles northeast of Baltimore.
The suspect is being held at Baltimore County Department of Corrections and will appear before a judge Tuesday afternoon for a bail hearing.
Harris has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder. He is being held at the Baltimore County Department of Corrections and is expected to appear for a bail review this afternoon. ^NL
— BACO Public Safety (@BACOPoliceFire) May 22, 2018
Three other male suspects, who had remained at large overnight, were taken into custody Tuesday. Police officials said in a statement the group is believed to have been “involved in burglaries in the area.”
Harris had lived in the same public housing complex in west Baltimore associated with the location of Freddie Gray’s arrest in 2015, according to WBAL. The local outlet also reported Harris had a record of car theft in the state’s juvenile system.
Charging documents state Caprio had been responding to a 911 call about a possible burglary near Perry Hall on Linwen Way.
At the scene, Caprio had instructed Harris, the driver, to get out of the vehicle.
“He admitted that he partially opened the driver’s door, but then shut it and drove at the officer,” the documents state.
“Harris admitted that he had been waiting in the driver’s seat of the Jeep Wrangler as other associates were in the process of committing a burglary.”
Tony Kurke, a local resident, said his son had been in the yard and saw the officer draw her gun as she approached people in a Jeep.
“The next thing he heard was a pop, and he saw the Jeep take off and run right over her,” Kurke told the Associated Press.
Law enforcement officials have not yet stated whether a gunshot or the vehicle impact was the cause of Caprio’s death.
Caprio is the first woman to die while serving as a Baltimore County police officer. She is the tenth officer in the department to be killed in the line of duty. She had served in the department for four years.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a Baltimore County Police Officer after she was shot in the line of duty today,” Republican Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted after the tragedy. “Our prayers go out to this brave officer’s family, @BACOPoliceFire, and the Baltimore County community.”
Police will be in the affected neighborhood today looking for property stolen during the burglaries.
