Monroe, who turned 18 in August, was in "after-care supervision" - the juvenile equivalent of parole - after completing a program with the state. DJS spokeswoman Tammy Brown said she could not comment specifically on Monroe's case. She said that those in after-care supervision who have shown progress are "stepped down" and released back to their communities, though they continue to check in with caseworkers. But they were never able to make contact with Monroe.
"We consider it AWOL status when a kid isn't reporting, when a worker goes out and we can't find him or he's not showing up to court," Brown said. "We do everything we can to coordinate with city police to look for the kid, and he was one of them that had been prioritized."
Monroe was arrested on four separate occasions for drug dealing in 2006 and twice more since then, for assault and attempted robbery. He had no arrests this year.
In a brief interview, Seonta Norris, who identified herself as Monroe's older sister, said he had until recently been staying with friends and family on the Eastern Shore and had returned to Baltimore. Norris said that she had heard that her brother had gotten into a fight in Highlandtown recently and that his death might have stemmed from that incident.
Monroe was found dead at about 7:30 a.m. Oct. 22, near a playground at Coldstream Park Elementary, more than two miles from his family's home in the McElderry Park neighborhood. Attempts to interview other family members were unsuccessful, and police could not provide any details about the homicide investigation.
At yesterday's service, attended by about 100 people, his "Uncle Tony" said Monroe never raised his voice or cursed at his elders. They knew he wasn't perfect, but he had potential, and to that end he planned on attending technical school to pursue a career in computer programming. He was called a "child of love, living in an unforgiving world."
"We often say, 'That's how the game goes,' " said his uncle. "It's not a game, as evidenced by us being here today."
'Baddest of bad'
Police and caseworkers have looked in recent months for youths with outstanding warrants.
* A May - June initiative involved knocking on 1,158 doors and netted 115 arrests.
* A sweep during the last two weeks of September led to arrests of 60 high-risk juveniles.
