The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office will not bring charges against a Baltimore Police officer who had been pursuing a stolen car when the driver later blew through a red light, hit another vehicle, struck a man and crashed into a vacant building, which then partially collapsed.
That’s along with declining to prosecute a detective who shot a 17-year-old as he ran away while holding a handgun with an extended magazine.
Prosecutors with the Public Trust and Police Integrity Unit detailed their legal review on Thursday in separate reports posted online. Here’s what they show:
Deadly crash, building collapse in East Baltimore
On Feb. 8, Officer Devin Yancy, a more than six-year veteran, was one of four officers who were following a stolen 2017 Hyundai Sonata. A lieutenant later told them, “All right guys, let it go,” and eventually stated over the police radio, “It’s not worth it, break it off,” according to the report.
Yancy started to decelerate, called out his location and continued to drive less than one block behind the car, the report states.
That’s when the vehicle ran a red light at the intersection of North Wolfe Street and East North Avenue in Broadway East, hit a 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse, struck a man and crashed into a vacant building, which then partially collapsed.
Alfred Fincher, 54, of Baltimore, was pronounced dead at the scene. Family members said he was a father of three who took care of his ailing mother and had been looking forward to the birth of new twin grandchildren.
Meanwhile, Shawn Brunson, 34, of Fallstaff, is charged with manslaughter, theft, unauthorized removal of a motor vehicle and related offenses. He’s set to stand trial in Baltimore Circuit Court on Feb. 20, 2024, according to online court records.
Brunson’s attorney, Daniel Sussman, could not be reached. An attorney who had been representing the Fincher family, Divya Potdar, also could not be reached.
Prosecutors wrote that the officers were lawfully pursuing a stolen car and would have been legally allowed to continue the chase. When a supervisor called it off, law enforcement followed that directive “within a reasonable amount of time,” according to the report.
Assistant state’s attorneys said a passenger in the stolen car told detectives that the vehicle was a “hack” — an unlicensed taxi — and she had no reason to believe the driver had been fleeing from the police. A Maryland Transit Administration driver, the report states, told investigators that he saw no evidence of a chase when the crash happened.
Shooting of 17-year-old in Southwest Baltimore
On May 11, Detective Cedric Elleby, a more than four-year veteran and a member of the Western District Action Team, shot a 17-year-old on South Catherine Street near Frederick Avenue in Shipley Hill.
Elleby and another detective were canvassing the area, the report states, and he reported that he believed the teen was “involved in drug activity.”
Next, Elleby started talking to several people, including the 17-year-old. Elleby decided to stop him, asserting that he believed the teen was armed, according to the report.
Elleby chased after the teen, who pulled out a handgun with an extended magazine while he was running away, the report states.
“Stop! Stop! Stop! Put the gun down! Put the gun down!” Elleby can be heard saying on his body camera before he fired four shots, hitting the teen once in the back.
Prosecutors wrote that the teen slightly turned as if he and the weapon were moving toward the detective.
The teen’s mother, Kieria Franklin, said her son underwent surgery for five hours and doctors removed his spleen, his left kidney and a piece of his liver. That’s in addition to repairing a collapsed left lung.
Law enforcement reported that they found a Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun with an extended magazine as well as drugs in his backpack.
Police later charged the teen with first- and second-degree assault and related offenses. Because of the shielding of court records, it’s unclear what happened with the case.
Franklin could not be reached. The Maryland Office of the Public Defender had been representing the teen and declined to comment.
How are people responding to the decisions?
Baltimore Police did not respond.
The president of the Baltimore City Lodge No. 3 Fraternal Order of Police, Sgt. Mike Mancuso, could not be reached.
