The three Baltimore police officers accused of dumping a West Baltimore teen in a Howard County park last year with no shoes or a cell phone turned themselves in Wednesday and were being held as of late afternoon on six-figure bails.
Tyrone Francis, 29, Gregory Hellen, 30, and Milton G. Smith III, 32, were indicted by a city grand jury on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, second-degree assault and misconduct in office Tuesday. On May 4, 2009, a teen said the officers pulled him into a police van and drove him into Patapsco State Park in Ellicott City, snapping his cell phone and leaving him there without shoes.
He called local police from a gas station and was driven back to his parents' home. Another teen said he was picked up that night and left in East Baltimore. The police union said the charges were "trumped up" and the officers will be cleared.
The officers turned themselves in Wednesday morning and were processed at Central Booking. Hellen's bail was set at $250,000, while Francis and Smith were being held on $200,000 bond. If unable to post bond, the officers would spend the night at the intake facility and go before a judge Thursday morning.