Arrest made in killing of man whose vigil was rocked by fear
Marquis Jones’ family can rest a bit easier.
Police have made an arrest in the slaying of the 19-year-old, whose family held a vigil after his death that was interruptedwhen a man approached and made a gun gesture with his hand, sending mourners scrambling with fear.
“Everybody's already tense, because the person who did it is still out here,” uncle Brandon Jones said at the time.
On Nov. 8, police charged Antwon Lee, a 19-year-old from Brooklyn, and he was arrested the next day. Hand-written court documents don’t provide a motive for the crime, only saying that witnesses identified Lee as the shooter. Relatives said they were told that Marquis Jones had been involved in an altercation hours before he was shot Oct. 16 in the 200 block of Aiken St.
After the murder but before Lee’s arrest, Jones’ mother, Tonya, said she was unsure whether an arrest would bring closure.
“As far as [the suspect], he’s already in his own personal jail,” she said. “I want the police to apprehend him and make him serve his time, [but] it won’t bring my son back.”
The arrest comes in a year where homicide detectives have been struggling with a declining rate of cases solved. The unit’s longtime commander was replaced last month.
Lee is being held without bond. His criminal record consists of a handful of drug possession cases and a trespassing charge, all of which were dropped by prosecutors. Court records do not list an attorney for his case.
Jones was one of four children, whose mother had to leave the family after witnessing the death of a relative. He got into trouble with the law, but at his funeral family members recalled his positive traits and decried the city’s culture of acceptance toward violence.
Violence has continued in the East Baltimore-Midway neighborhood where Jones was killed – on Saturday, 18-year-old Kevin Lofland was fatally shot in the 2300 block of Aiken St. It was not clear if the cases were connected.
