Man seized near UMB charged with assault

July 24, 2008

A man arrested near the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus Tuesday after a police officer said he was carrying a makeshift explosive device was charged yesterday with assault, reckless endangerment and concealing a deadly weapon.

Baltimore police spokesman Sterling Clifford identified the suspect as Dallas Jermaine Smith, 22, who has no fixed address. A District Court commissioner yesterday ordered Smith to be held without bail; his next court appearance has not been set.

Clifford said that a university officer stopped the man in the 800 block of W. Baltimore St. on Tuesday morning because he was clutching his side as if he was trying to hide a weapon. The spokesman said the man fought back, and during the incident, the explosive device fell out of a knapsack.

Members of the police bomb squad detonated the device. Clifford would not describe how it was made but said had it gone off, it would have caused minimal damage. Police said they knew of no motive but said they believe the university's Biotechnology Institute was not a target.