Facing charges that she failed to protect her son from a sex offender, the mother of a slain 11-year-old will undergo a mental evaluation, attorneys told a city judge Monday.
“She obviously has problems caring for her children,” Baltimore City Assistant State?s Attorney Julie Drake said of Shanda Harris, 41, the mother of Irvin Harris, 11, who was found dead last July behind a Northeast Baltimore church within blocks of his home. Melvin Jones, 53, a family friend and convicted sex offender who babysat for Harris, is charged with Irvin?s murder.
Harris will be evaluated by the Client Services Division of the Public Defender?s Office, although Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart expressed concern Monday that an analysis of Harris hasn?t already begun.
“This has been hanging around for a long time,” Stewart said, pointing out that Harris was arraigned last November. Authorities launched a child welfare investigation last summer amid suspicions that Jones had been allowed undue access to Harris? children even after Harris learned of his past. Among their concerns were reports that Jones was a designated family representative for the children at Collington Square School until the principal learned of his legal status.
Prosecutors and police detectives also were concerned that Harris failed to follow up with police after an incident on the Fourth of July, in which Jones allegedly choked Irvin. Harris has admitted to having drug and alcohol problems, and both defense attorneys and prosecutors want to make sure she has the proper help of authorities, they said.
