Man shot in 92 becomes latest city homicide
A man shot and made a paraplegic at an East Baltimore carryout in 1992 died in January, and the state Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide this week, making the two-decade old case the city’s 26th slaying of 2011.
There are several so-called time-delayed deaths in Baltimore each year and they’re added to the city’s homicide count when ruled homicides. In this case, a suspect had been arrested at the scene but found not criminally responsible of attempted first-degree murder. If he’s still alive, he cannot be charged in the death.
Detective Donny Moses, a police spokesman, said James Fields, Jr., 47, of Gwynn Oak, died Jan. 5 at Northwest Medical Center. He said a medical examiner ruled Tuesday that he died of pneumonia brought by a prolonged stay in bed — a direct result of the shooting 19 years ago.
For more details:
Police said Fields had been talking with the owner of the carryout, in the 1900 block of Greenmount Ave., when the owner’s son “without warning” opened fire. Moses said other customers were inside at the time, but Fields was only person struck by bullets.
Fields was hit repeatedly in the right shoulder and as a result lost the use of his legs. Moses said the gunman fired from a five-shot revolver, and emptied the gun. “Witness said he continued to pull the trigger even after dispelling all the rounds,” Moses said.
A motive was unclear but Moses said police arrested Hercules Thomas, of the 900 block of N. Calvert St., and charged him with attempted first-degree murder and handgun violations. The suspect was 54 at the time of the shooting; he would 73-year-old today.
Court records show that Thomas was tried but found not criminally responsible by a jury, and sent to Clifton T. Perkins, a state psychiatric hospital. It could not be learned what happened to Thomas in later years.
Ruling Fields’ death a homicide pushes the city’s slaying numbers as of Thursday to 26, one more than at this time last year.
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, East Baltimore
Comments
There are several so-called time-delayed deaths in Baltimore each year...
Which is why the annual murder numbers need to be shown along with the attempted murder and similar aggravated assault numbers.
Sometimes the time delay to actual death is measured in decades... and sometimes it is only hours.
Posted by: MrRational | March 3, 2011 12:50 PM
"It could not be learned what happened to Thomas in later years."
Do you mean to tell us that the state is unwilling or unable to divulge his whereabouts? It's not too much to ask, given Thomas's behavorial "issues."
Posted by: Justice For Whom? | March 4, 2011 4:03 PM