Edgewood resident Michelle Guess choked back tears Wednesday as she spoke about her husband to the Senate Judicial Review Committee in Annapolis.
“I?m sorry,” she said as she held her hand to her face to gain composure. Committee members urged her to take her time.
Guess stood before the committee in support of a bill that would strengthen the prosecution of gang members by making it a crime to participate in a gang that commits crime. Some compare it to the federal organized crime statute.
“I am a victim of gang violence,” Guess said. She recalled how she and her husband, Derald, 37 ? an Edgewood cab driver killed on Dec. 8, 2004, as part of a gang-related robbery ? moved their nine children from South Philadelphia to get away from gang violence.
“The grass is always greener,” she said. “But we did not know we moved into a gang violent area.”
“I?m grateful this legislation is here,” said Guess? eldest son, Shamaar, 21. “I wish it was here before my father died.”
Though theirs was perhaps the most emotional testimony before the committee Wednesday, the family?s support for the bill was echoed by government leaders, police officers and state prosecutors from around the metro area.
Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith told committee members that gangs are a problem not only for cities, but also for suburban areas.
“We had a gang shooting about this time last year,” testified Aberdeen Mayor S. Fred Simmons, saying the victim “was more proud of his scars ? then telling us who shot him.”
“Harford County definitely has a gang problem,” said Col. Greg Carlevaro, chief deputy of the Harford County Sheriff?s Office.
Representing the Baltimore City Council, District 8 Councilwoman Helen Holton urged the committee to “let our young people become old people.”
Whereas his mother struggled to hold back tears, Shamaar Guess spoke with fervor and conviction. Committee members did not even attempt to stop his testimony as several beeps announced his time was up.
Speaking for his eight younger brothers and sisters, he said, “I don’t want to be afraid of a gang.”
