The Baltimore state's attorney's office said it would consider seeking the death penalty for two of the three men indicted yesterday in connection with the execution-style killing of police Detective Thomas G. Newman.
The three men indicted by a Baltimore grand jury are Jovan J. House, 21, of the 2400 block of Dorton Court; Anthony A. Brown, 34, of the 600 block of W. Franklin St.; and Raymond Saunders, 22, of the 800 block of Fifth Ave.
Prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty for House and Saunders, who police believe were the gunmen, but State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said she would analyze the facts of the case to determine if it is death-penalty eligible.
"We are exploring those possibilities," said Jessamy, who has sought the death penalty once since she took office in 1995.
In order to seek death in this case, the state has to prove Newman, 37, was on duty when the shooting occurred.
The detective, a 12-year veteran, was ambushed and killed early Nov. 23 outside Joe's Tavern, a Southeast Baltimore pub. He was not on duty in the bar, but prosecutors are trying to figure out if he momentarily assumed his police responsibilities when he walked out of the bar and saw the suspected gunmen.
House and Saunders are accused of approaching Newman as he left the tavern and opening fire without saying a word. Police allege that they continued to shoot after Newman fell to the ground, hitting the detective with several bullets from two guns. Police believe they escaped in a car driven by Brown.
The motive, prosecutors and police say, is retaliation against the detective for testifying against Saunders' half-brother, who was convicted of shooting the officer during a similar ambush in April last year.
After shooting Newman, the two gunmen turned and began firing at a security guard who was standing in the bar parking lot, police said. All three suspects were also indicted yesterday on charges of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, and conspiracy to commit murder. The three men's arraignment is set for Feb. 13 before Circuit Judge Evelyn Omega Cannon.