Brian Keith Turner knew police were after him. And the convicted burglar apparently had no doubt what he would do when he got caught.
Yesterday afternoon, as a Baltimore police officer trained a gun on him in the middle of a street north of Eldersburg in Carroll County, the 21-year-old pulled a gun from his Porsche and fatally shot himself in the head.
City police charged Turner with burglary Tuesday and started searching for him in earnest yesterday when they learned details about his car. But it was only by chance that a city officer saw the car in Baltimore County. He followed it to Route 32 and Miners Ridge Drive, where the shooting occurred.
Police said Detective Kenneth A. Dyson, a member of a federal task force that hunts down fugitives, happened to be driving an unmarked car in western Baltimore County yesterday afternoon on business.
He was listening to his police radio when he heard the description of the Porsche as he neared Liberty and Marriottsville roads about 2 p.m. and realized that the wanted car was in front of him.
State Police Sgt. Laura Herman said Dyson radioed for help and followed the Porsche into Carroll County.
About 10 minutes later, the driver stopped at Route 32 and Miners Ridge Drive and leaned out of the car window.
City police said the driver asked Dyson why he was following him.
Dyson got out of his car, pulled his gun and badge and told Turner he was under arrest.
"The suspect leaned back into the Porsche, drew a handgun and shot himself in the right side of the head," Herman said. Turner was rushed to Carroll County General Hospital in Westminster, where he was pronounced dead.
Herman said the Porsche belonged to Turner, but she said the Glock 9 mm semiautomatic handgun he used to kill himself had '' been stolen in a residential burglary in Baltimore City.
Police said they found a suicide note tucked inside Turner's clothing that indicated he did not want to go to jail. Police would not divulge the exact contents of the note, but said it was addressed to a Baltimore police detective.
Little could be learned last night about Turner, who police said lived in the 3100 block of Guilford Ave. in North Baltimore.
He pleaded guilty in 1994 to theft and was sentenced to probation before judgment. As a condition of his plea, he was ordered to stay out of Nordstrom department stores for three years.
In 1995, prosecutors placed burglary charges on the inactive docket. He was convicted of burglary on March 4, 1996, and received a 12-year suspended sentence. He was charged with burglary and theft Tuesday and was being sought in a warrant on that case until yesterday.
Further details of Turner's past could not be learned.
A lawyer who represented him in an earlier case did not recall his client; relatives could not be reached.
Pub Date: 1/24/97
