Derrick Markel Peterson was gunned down near his mother’s apartment more than 10 years ago, and Howard County police are hoping to find a piece of clothing that might lead to the 23-year-old’s killers. Police have also raised the reward to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.
It was Dec. 19, 2001. Peterson had just pulled up around the corner of his family’s home in Laurel. Police believe someone came up from behind and shot him.
Police found him slumped partly out of the driver’s side of his 1998 Lincoln Town Car.
But something was missing from the crime scene — Peterson’s jacket. Police think that the shooter took it from him.
The jacket was a gift from a cousin. It was waist-length and a deep burgundy.
“Coogi,” the name of the label, was on the back, spelled out in different colors.
A man was seen running from the shooting scene with what appeared to be a gun in his right hand. He was carrying something, and police believe that it was Peterson’s jacket.
The man ran to a light-colored sedan, possibly a 1990s Chevrolet Caprice or Ford Crown Victoria.
The shooter was described as a black man in his 20s, about 5 feet 9 and 170 pounds. The car’s driver was also a black man in his 20s, described as a chubby 6-3, 275 pounds.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call police at 410-313-7867.
