Harford County marked its first murder less than 24 hours into the new year, with the death of a Middle River resident in Edgewood on Monday night.
Shortly after 11 p.m. Monday, sheriff?s deputies found Walter Antonio Overton on the 400 block of Meadowood Drive with multiple gunshot wounds to the front of his upper body, sheriff?s spokesman Lt. Jim Eyler said.
“With this coming so early in the year, we hope it?s not a forecast of the upcoming year,” he said. Last year, the county?s first homicide was not recorded until July.
“This year it?s hitting us head-on,” Eyler said.
Police do not believe Overton?s killing was gang-related. He was an associate of the Bloods, Eyler said, but was not a full member. Court records show he had been charged, but not prosecuted, last year for drug possession with intent to distribute. There was no indication Overton was robbed. Overton, 21, was found in a flower bed next to a home where he had been meeting with a friend and a relative.
Emergency Medical Personnel from the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company treated him at the scene and transported him to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, where he was later pronounced dead. Overton apparently grew up in Edgewood, Eyler said, and “floated” between friends there and a sibling?s house in Middle River.
Police interviewed many witnesses and neighbors but have not yet named any suspects. Many who heard the gunfire assumed the noise was a continuation of Sunday night?s celebrations, Eyler said.
Harford County totaled seven murders in 2006, with three other cases awaiting rulings by the medical examiner?s office. If identified as homicides, those three will tie 2006 with 1989 as the deadliest year on record for the suburban county.
Investigators are asking anyone with information to call the Crime Solvers tip line at 888-540-TIPS. Information is kept confidential, and tips that lead to an arrest can be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward.
