Prosecutors in Prince George’s County, facing a culture of intimidation, have made it standard procedure to withhold the identities of key witnesses in violent crimes.
Tron Johnson, 22, allegedly shot and killed three people at a Largo pizzeria on Super Bowl night. As Johnson awaits a bail hearing, prosecutors are shielding the identities of witnesses in the case, fearing they’ll be intimidated into not testifying, said Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for Prince George’s County States Attorney Glenn Ivey.
Witness intimidation has been a continued concern for prosecutors and police, officials said, and while recent laws have empowered prosecutors to arrest intimidators, street-level campaigns have thwarted police efforts to get witnesses to talk.
Police Chief Melvin High recently told County Council members that “witness intimidation is a real factor that must be overcome,” as he urged a state-funded witness-relocation program to combat the “several groups that promote the ‘stop snitching’ mentality.”
He said he feared the recent release of the “Stop Snitching 2” DVD will enhance this mentality and cause even more concern in specific neighborhoods. The DVD, released in December as a follow-up to the first part that hit the streets in 2004, threatens violence against would-be informants.
The video, made in Baltimore, has caused a national outrage. Its producer, an alleged member of the Bloods gang, is on trial in Baltimore for allegedly threatening store owners who refused to stock his DVD.
The States Attorney’s Office runs a short-term witness relocation program, but it’s not nearly as extensive as relocation programs run by the federal government, Korionoff said. Ivey, working with the governor’s office, has been able to free up some state funding to expand the program in recent years, but High suggested it needs a bigger reach to have an effect.
“A state-funded witness-relocation program from time of incident until after trial would significantly help,” High said, pointing to the department’s crime-solving rate that’s fallen well below national averages in the past two years .
