Many of the shocking crimes from the state capital's recent history have a connection to Robinwood:
The shooting at a food court at the Westfield Annapolis Mall in 2006 was chalked up to a rivalry between teens in Robinwood and another public housing complex.
The two teens convicted in a fatal 2002 carjacking in Annapolis' Historic District hailed from there.
It was also the scene of a 1996 police-involved shooting that polarized the city's black and white communities and prompted marches on City Hall.
Robinwood is notorious in Annapolis, but not unique. The public housing complexes, along with several private, low-income housing developments, have been the setting for nearly all of the city's killings in the past four years.
Some note that while larger cities struggle with entire swaths of neighborhoods consumed by poverty and urban decay, Annapolis' troubled communities take up no more than a few blocks each and are often surrounded by vibrant businesses, single-family homes or waterfront.
Police and city leaders have struggled to balance demands for a greater police presence with the need to respect residents' rights.
"It's a resource issue, but I also don't think people want to live in a police state. There's a lot of talk about stopping every car and identifying every person who goes into a community, but this is a free country," said Lt. Brian Della, an Annapolis police spokesman who once patrolled Robinwood's streets.
"We know there's good people there, and we need their cooperation."
More than 75 people - including church leaders, teachers, community activists and residents - marched through the heart of Robinwood on Thursday to mourn Johnson's death and call for action.
They joined hands in a prayer circle and stood amid liquor bottle caps and broken glass in front of a makeshift memorial of balloons and stuffed animals.
"Everybody who is tired of talking, say `Amen!'" yelled Sheryl Menendez, an associate pastor at the Light of the World Church.
Among those in the crowd were familiar faces from the neighborhood's criminal past, such as Spencer, who 10 years ago was brought down in one of the largest drug busts in the city's history. He was described then as the "kingpin" of a large-scale crack cocaine operation - using his proceeds to fund youth sports programs, help residents pay bills and support political causes.
