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Armed with clubs fashioned from broken table legs, the two men burst into a
Southwest Baltimore house last month, city prosecutors said, intent on beating
the homeowner so badly that he couldn't testify in court.
But their alleged effort at witness intimidation went awry, according to court documents. Not only was the victim's family able to alert police, but one of the suspects was killed in the fight.
Yesterday, Joseph John DiAngelo Jr. - the man who police and prosecutors say was behind the intimidation, waiting in his pickup truck as the others carried out his orders - was charged with nine assault and conspiracy-related crimes, including witness intimidation, in the February attack.
The incident illustrates the relentless intimidation affecting Baltimore's criminal justice system, from high-profile violent drug cases to seemingly minor neighborhood disputes, like this one in Morrell Park.
Court documents say DiAngelo, 51, promised $100 to the two men if they beat the victim so badly that he couldn't testify against him in a court case. A judge ordered him held yesterday without bail.
DiAngelo's alleged twice-over victim - first of an attempted knife attack in the fall and then of witness intimidation - says he will come to court as many times as necessary.
"Oh yes, I'll testify," said Vincent Harmon, 42. He declined to comment further, saying his lawyer had advised him not to.
Harmon and DiAngelo aren't warring drug lords. They're neighbors embroiled in a dispute. And the original charges against DiAngelo, though serious, carry a maximum penalty of 13 years in prison and were to be handled in the lower District Court.
Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said that what happened to Harmon shows how witness intimidation cuts across all types of cases.
"We live in a civil society," she said. "We cannot allow this kind of behavior to continue at the same rate."
Jessamy has said that witness intimidation - ranging from subtle threats such as court transcripts nailed to a witness' door to more blatant attacks like the one against Harmon - pervades Baltimore's court system. A locally produced documentary called Stop Snitching, which was sold on the streets last fall, underlines the problem, she said.
Prosecutors across Maryland have been lobbying in Annapolis this legislative session for a bill, crafted by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., that they say will help curb witness intimidation.
The proposal, which was approved this week by the Senate but faces opposition in a House committee, would increase the maximum prison sentence for witness intimidation from five years to 20. It also would allow some out-of-court statements by intimidated witnesses to be used as evidence at trials even if the witness isn't present. Such statements are usually rejected as hearsay.
Criminal defense attorneys oppose the hearsay exception because, they say, it infringes upon people's constitutional right to confront their accuser.
Although Harmon has vowed to testify even in the face of an intimidation attempt, Jessamy said witnesses in other cases have been more reluctant.
For example, Baltimore resident Sharon McClellan, who testified in favor of Ehrlich's bill, said that fear has kept her nephew's killer from being charged. She said that three witnesses have told her what happened May 13, 2003, but that none has cooperated with police because they are terrified.
Court documents against DiAngelo, a man with a multipage arrest record of mostly minor drug possession, theft and bad-checks charges, describe how police believe he hatched a plan to instill such fear in Harmon:
DiAngelo hired William Morton and Ronald Carter and drove them about 5 p.m. Feb. 27 to Sexton Street. He pointed to Harmon's home and waited outside in his truck while they forced their way in.
Once inside the home, the two began beating Harmon with the table legs and corralled his family into the kitchen. Harmon made his way to his second-floor bedroom in search of his rifle.
But their alleged effort at witness intimidation went awry, according to court documents. Not only was the victim's family able to alert police, but one of the suspects was killed in the fight.
Yesterday, Joseph John DiAngelo Jr. - the man who police and prosecutors say was behind the intimidation, waiting in his pickup truck as the others carried out his orders - was charged with nine assault and conspiracy-related crimes, including witness intimidation, in the February attack.
The incident illustrates the relentless intimidation affecting Baltimore's criminal justice system, from high-profile violent drug cases to seemingly minor neighborhood disputes, like this one in Morrell Park.
Court documents say DiAngelo, 51, promised $100 to the two men if they beat the victim so badly that he couldn't testify against him in a court case. A judge ordered him held yesterday without bail.
DiAngelo's alleged twice-over victim - first of an attempted knife attack in the fall and then of witness intimidation - says he will come to court as many times as necessary.
"Oh yes, I'll testify," said Vincent Harmon, 42. He declined to comment further, saying his lawyer had advised him not to.
Harmon and DiAngelo aren't warring drug lords. They're neighbors embroiled in a dispute. And the original charges against DiAngelo, though serious, carry a maximum penalty of 13 years in prison and were to be handled in the lower District Court.
Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said that what happened to Harmon shows how witness intimidation cuts across all types of cases.
"We live in a civil society," she said. "We cannot allow this kind of behavior to continue at the same rate."
Jessamy has said that witness intimidation - ranging from subtle threats such as court transcripts nailed to a witness' door to more blatant attacks like the one against Harmon - pervades Baltimore's court system. A locally produced documentary called Stop Snitching, which was sold on the streets last fall, underlines the problem, she said.
Prosecutors across Maryland have been lobbying in Annapolis this legislative session for a bill, crafted by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., that they say will help curb witness intimidation.
The proposal, which was approved this week by the Senate but faces opposition in a House committee, would increase the maximum prison sentence for witness intimidation from five years to 20. It also would allow some out-of-court statements by intimidated witnesses to be used as evidence at trials even if the witness isn't present. Such statements are usually rejected as hearsay.
Criminal defense attorneys oppose the hearsay exception because, they say, it infringes upon people's constitutional right to confront their accuser.
Although Harmon has vowed to testify even in the face of an intimidation attempt, Jessamy said witnesses in other cases have been more reluctant.
For example, Baltimore resident Sharon McClellan, who testified in favor of Ehrlich's bill, said that fear has kept her nephew's killer from being charged. She said that three witnesses have told her what happened May 13, 2003, but that none has cooperated with police because they are terrified.
Court documents against DiAngelo, a man with a multipage arrest record of mostly minor drug possession, theft and bad-checks charges, describe how police believe he hatched a plan to instill such fear in Harmon:
DiAngelo hired William Morton and Ronald Carter and drove them about 5 p.m. Feb. 27 to Sexton Street. He pointed to Harmon's home and waited outside in his truck while they forced their way in.
Once inside the home, the two began beating Harmon with the table legs and corralled his family into the kitchen. Harmon made his way to his second-floor bedroom in search of his rifle.
