From 6th grade to Baltimore gang member
Back in October 1999, a Baltimore Sun reporter had the most routine of assignments -- the government gave 2,000 Maryland sixth-graders scholarship money to help them with their education. "I'm very excited because it means I have a better chance to go to college," Sirlilar Stokes, then 10, told reporter Howard Libit. "It's something I want to do."
In May of this year, a different reporter, Jacques Kelly, wrote this about that same little girl, again, a routine story: "A 20-year-old Baltimore woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder in a pair of shootings in 2008."
Now, that routine May story has taken a different twist -- a series of raids on Thursday by Baltimore police and federal authorities to bring down a Bloods gang started with Stokes, who went on a shooting spree to avenge the death of a rival gang member involved in abudcting another gang member from The Block and killing him (at left, in a photo of Baltimore Sun staffer Amy Davis, Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy addresses a news conference about Thursday's sweep. Behind her is Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein).
I've tried to reach out to Stokes' family but through her lawyer they declined my request. Back in 1999, she made the news simply because she gave the perfect quote for a feel-good story. Now she's in the news for an entirely different reason, and it raises questions about whether she ever took advantage of the opportunity given to her 10 years ago. I also want to know what happened to the other 2,000 kids who had the same offer. It could be that 1,999 are successful now.
Authorities in Baltimore have conducted several raids on gangs that are now part of the city's violent culture -- we've seen connections to Maryland prisons (in this latest case, cops even raided jaill cells) and now the cops have make links to California, another troubling sign that maybe the gangs in Baltimore aren't just former street crews adapting more threatening names, but actually are strongly linked to their West Coast cousins.
For more on Stokes, here is Jacques Kelly's May 11 story:
20-year-old Baltimore woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder in a pair of shootings in 2008.
Authorities say Sirlilar Jewelle Stokes of the 4800 block of Briarclift Ave. shot two men in retaliation for the killing of "close associate" Kenneth Cooper "Cash" Jones the day before. They say Stokes, affiliated with the PDL Bloods gang, was targeting people she believed to be members of the Spider Bloods gang.Two co-defendants, 21-year-old Lavel Edmond and 26-year-old Gerod Damon Lewis, were sentenced to 15 years after pleading guilty to lesser charges.
According to court papers, Stokes, Edmond and Lewis drove a white Dodge Charger to the 300 block of S. Addison St. in West Baltimore about midnight June 10. While fellow gang members waited, Stokes saw Tavon Kuniken, produced a .380-caliber AMT handgun and opened fire, striking Kuniken in the upper right leg.
Immediately after the shooting, authorities say, Stokes, Edmond and Lewis drove to the 3000 block of Spaulding Ave. and began to fire. Authorities say Stokes shot at the front of 3063 Spaulding Ave., striking Dean Bartley in the chest. They say Edmond shot at the rear of 3047 Spaulding Ave.
When she was 10 years old, Stokes was interviewed by a Baltimore Sun reporter about a federal grant the state had received to help children graduate from high school and pay for college.
"I'm very excited, because it means I have a better chance to go to college," she said in the 1999 story. "It's something I want to do."
Last week, Stokes pleaded guilty before Judge David Young to two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of using a handgun in the commission of a violent crime. She was sentenced to life in prison, with all but the first 50 years suspended.
Edmond, of the 2300 block of Allendale Road, and Lewis, of the 2400 block of W. Mosher St., pleaded guilty before Judge Martin Welch to one count each of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to use a handgun in the commission of a violent crime.
Comments
PARENTS
Posted by: emmet | May 29, 2009 10:38 AM
Parents AND
environment, lack of self esteem, lack
of dreams, lack of guidance. lack feeling anyone gives a darn, lack of respect.
Those need to be added in too.
Posted by: Marie | May 30, 2009 8:46 PM
I know alot of people might say these people who get in to gangs come from broken homes or not raised up correctly. Well, for the record, Sirlilar Jewelle Stokes was raised up in church all her life. Her mother was a single parent, but made sure she had the right upbringing around her at all times. Alot of kids do things because of peer pressure around them meaning wanting to fit in. She always was a good kid, and i know this personal. So, do not judge, i am not saying what she did was right, but she was raised to have morals and respect for herself and others. She just chose to make bad choices.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 2, 2009 8:12 AM