Message to witness intimidation suspects: Don?t hang out in the police station?s parking lot. It makes it too easy for the police to find you.
Baltimore police have charged two women ? Janice Jones, 27, and Dakia Frazier, 23 ? with witness intimidation, but they didn?t have to look far to make an arrest.
Jones and Frazier allegedly drove a female witness in an attempted murder case to the Eastern District Police Station at 4:40 p.m. on Aug. 17 and demanded she recant a previous incriminating statement made against Frazier?s live-in boyfriend, Kevin Jackson.
Jackson is being held without bail on armed robbery and attempted first-degree murder charges.
“She [the witness] advised me of the situation and began to cry,” Det. Dawnyell Taylor wrote in a report. “I immediately was alarmed that something was wrong. I began to investigate and determined that the two women were waiting outside next to the police station for the witness to complete her task.”
Taylor arrested Jones and Frazier and learned they had repeatedly attempted to persuade the witness into changing her statement.
After being arrested Aug. 14, Jackson contacted Frazier, who sought out the witness, the police report states.
The two women then approached the witness three times; she eventually agreed to let them drive her to the police station, according to charging documents.
“The witness was supposed to come inside and ask detectives to free Kevin Jackson,” Taylor wrote.
A witness intimidation conviction carries up to 20 years in prison.
“These allegations highlight the continued problems that prosecutors face when they are pursuing justice,” said Margaret Burns, spokeswoman for Baltimore City State?s Attorney Patricia Jessamy. “This is a brazen attempt to thwart justice for prosecutors who need to secure a conviction. We cannot prove a case without our witnesses.”
U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings and Jessamy recently urged passage of a federal bill that would provide money to violent cities to pay U.S Marshals for witness protection.
FAST FACT
Through July, 163 families scheduled to testify in criminal trials have sought assistance from law enforcement this year, according to Baltimore City State?s Attorney Patricia Jessamy?s office.
