Tow truck driver sold cars to recycler, police say
A Baltimore tow truck driver has been arrested, accused of taking disabled vehicles left along roadsides and selling them to an auto-parts recycler, state police say. Charles Jennings III, 38, of the 4200 block of Labyrinth Road, turned himself in Tuesday at the Golden Ring Barracks. Police said he is charged with four counts of auto theft and four counts of theft over $500, though they are investigating him in connection with more than 80 cars sold this year at a recycling yard in the 4700 block of Erdman Ave. Police say Jennings filled out required indemnity forms, identifying him as the owner, for four vehicles found at the lot. One of the cars was a 2000 Infiniti that the lien holder tracked down by activating a GPS device. Jennings is being held in the Baltimore County Detention Center on $50,000 bond. The investigation is continuing.
- Jacques Kelly
DNA evidence links man to fatal shooting in 2003
A Baltimore man incarcerated in Massachusetts has been indicted on first-degree murder charges after police matched him to a 2003 homicide through DNA found on evidence that had not initially been tested. Damian Thompson, 30, has been charged in the Aug. 8, 2003, shooting of James Godfrey, who died, and Terrence Day, who was wounded, during an attempted robbery at a home in the 3500 block of Horton Ave. in the city's Brooklyn neighborhood. Initial detectives were unable to develop a suspect, and the investigation was moved to the cold-case squad. According to charging documents, Detective Kevin Hagan obtained new information in January 2007 and learned that several evidence items hadn't been tested. The crime lab found a DNA profile, which was submitted to a national database. In 2008, the profile was matched to Thompson. A witness to the original crime picked Thompson out of a photo array, charging documents show. Hagan interviewed Thompson, who denied any involvement in the shooting. He was charged March 6 and indicted by a grand jury May 7.
- Justin Fenton
