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The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office is declining to bring charges against two Baltimore Police officers who were pursuing a car connected to an attempted armed robbery when the driver crashed into a tree in Roland Park, killing his wife in the front passenger seat.
Prosecutors from the Public Trust and Police Integrity Unit wrote in an eight-page report that Officers Bradley Roberson and Menachem Rosenbloom acted “reasonably and lawfully” and did not cause the crash that killed Linda Moss, 74, of Westminster. Loved ones described her as an energetic and boisterous former teacher’s aide whose husband charmed her while he continued to commit petty and serious crimes, including, they allege, stealing from her.
The report is not dated, but the document recently appeared online.
Moss’ son, Paul Yackanicz, said the family is disappointed with the decision.
Read previous coverage of the fatal police pursuit in Roland Park
The Baltimore Community Intelligence Center notified police at about 11:50 p.m. on March 25, 2023, that a license plate reader had picked up a 2015 Chevrolet Cruze that investigators linked to an attempted armed robbery that took place the previous day at the Westminster Crossing West shopping center, according to the report.
Roberson and Rosenbloom, the report states, started to look for the car and found it on West North Avenue near Linden Avenue. Police turned on the lights and sirens and tried to stop the vehicle, which took off.
At one point, Maj. Jeffrey Featherstone called over the police radio, “Back off, ease off.” Officers turned off the sirens but continued to follow the car, the report outlines.
Body-worn-camera video captured one of the officers responding, “What? It’s a f------ armed robbery car.”
“Can I keep going?” an officer asked.
“Yeah,” an officer replied, “keep going.”
Later, the vehicle struck a parked car, the report states, and crashed into a tree in front of a home on Roland Avenue between Gladstone Avenue and Wyndhurst Avenue.
Police ordered the driver, Daniel Moss, 59, of Westminster, out of the car. The Baltimore City Fire Department responded to the crash, and medics pronounced his wife dead at 12:15 a.m., according to the report.
He’s charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, second-degree assault and related offenses in Carroll County Circuit Court, along with second-degree escape in Baltimore County Circuit Court, according to court records. Prison records show he’s incarcerated in the Jessup Correctional Institution.
Prosecutors reported that his “erratic driving in his attempt to avoid capture” was the “proximate cause” of the deadly crash.
Roberson is a more than two-year veteran of the department. Rosenbloom has been on the force for over three years, according to the city’s salary database.
The Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division investigated the crash and reported that the state’s attorney on Jan. 28 declined prosecution.
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Dylan Segelbaum is the courts reporter at The Baltimore Banner.
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