Account of one fire omen of another

At a time when a city campaign is urging residents to come forward with information to convict drug dealers, neighbors, relatives and some politicians called both blazes retaliation against a family who had spoken out against dealing.

But top city leaders offered muted - if any - responses to the tragedy, apparently leery of pointing fingers in the case of a fire that they were not calling suspicious, much less arson. Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris declined to comment, as did Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy. Mayor Martin O'Malley released a brief written statement.

"This is a horribly tragic loss of life," O'Malley's statement said. "The circumstances that caused the fire are under very active investigation. The entire city mourns the deeply tragic loss of this young family."

Fire officials and police declined to speculate on a possible connection between the fires and the long-running dispute the Dawsons had with Henry, an 18-year-old high school dropout with a record of drug and firearms arrests.

Colbert said Angela Dawson unfairly accused many neighborhood teens of dealing drugs - making her so unpopular that Colbert's grandson considered circulating a petition calling for the family to move out. Henry, who sometimes uses his grandmother's last name, never followed through with the plan, she said.

"A lot of young people in our neighborhood was messing with drugs. But she said he was messing with drugs, but he doesn't," Colbert said. "She would say things about him, [such as] he needs to go get a job."

Henry was charged with possession of marijuana, a handgun and a firearm in April last year, court records show. He pleaded guilty in Baltimore court to the weapons charges and received a five-year suspended sentence and three years of probation, which began in July last year. The drug charge was dropped as part of a plea bargain.

In a report to police, the Dawsons accused Henry of spray-painting a curse word on the wall outside their house Aug. 22 and slapping Angela Dawson in the face the next day. The couple accused him of throwing bricks through their windows Aug. 25 and Sept. 4.

As a result, Henry appeared in court Oct. 2 on charges of assault and malicious destruction of property. He was ordered to pay $275 in restitution and stay away from the family, and the case was put on inactive or "stet" status for a year.

About 4 a.m. the next morning, two glass bottles filled with flammable liquid and topped with wicks were tossed through the Dawsons' first floor window, according to a police report.

After the first fire, the Dawsons met with prosecutors, who said they offered to place the family in a witness protection program Oct. 7. The family declined, saying they did not want to move.

Sun writers M. Dion Thompson, Laurie Willis and Walter F. Roche contributed to this article.