Baltimore Crime Beat: Man sentenced for killing lacrosse captain - Baltimore crime news: Police, courts and police stories in the city and central Maryland

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November 21, 2008

Man sentenced for killing lacrosse captain

You may have seen today's story on the sentencing of a man in the death of Christopher Clarke. Jerome Whitaker was ordered to prison for 25 years for fatally shooting Clarke, a bystander caught in the crossfire of a dispute over drug turf in Northeast Baltimore's Belair-Edison neighborhood.

Clarke was 18 and captain of the Patterson High lacrosse team. He also was a football player and a saxophonist in the school's jazz band. He wanted to be a police officer. His family was too distraught to show up to yesterday's sentencing in Baltimore Circuit Court. ColumnistDan Rodricks and other reporters wrote about Clarke and other violence as part of the Confronting Crime series.

Rodricks' blog, Random Rodricks, also has information on the case.

Here is a statment from the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office:

Jerome Whitaker Brandon Green DISPO 11202008

Get your own at Scribd or explore others:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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About Peter Hermann

Peter Hermann started covering news for The Baltimore Sun in 1990, first in Anne Arundel County and, starting in 1994, reporting on the Baltimore Police Department. In 2001, he was assigned to Jerusalem as the Baltimore Sun's Middle East correspondent. He returned in 2005 as an assistant city editor overseeing crime coverage. In 2008, Peter returned to the beat as a daily reporter and blogger. A recent BBC report featured him in a segment on the harsh realities of covering crime in Baltimore.

Coverage will focus on crime trends, problems in neighborhoods in the city and elsewhere, profiles of victims and police officers and try to offer readers a fresh perspective on one of the most vexing issues facing Baltimore and its future.

Contributing to this blog is Justin Fenton, who joined The Sun in 2005 and has covered the Baltimore City Police Department and the criminal justice system since 2008. His work includes an investigation into Cal Ripken Jr.’s minor league baseball stadium deal with his hometown of Aberdeen, a three-part series chronicling a ruthless con woman, coverage of the killing of five Amish children at a schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa., and a job swap with a British crime reporter to explore differences in crime-fighting. A special report looking into how city police handle rape cases led to sweeping reforms that changed the way sexual assaults are investigated in Baltimore. He was recognized as the best reporter in Baltimore by the City Paper in 2010 and by Baltimore Magazine in 2011.

Follow @phscoop, @justin_fenton on Twitter