Tremayne Johnson, one of the teen-aged twins accused of fatally setting fire to a pit bull two years ago, was charged with marijuana possession less than three weeks after his animal cruelty trial ended with a hung jury, according to court records.
That means both 19-year-old brothers picked up new criminal charges while out on bail in the dog-burning case, which is scheduled to be retried next month. Travers Johnson is being held on attempted murder and burglary charges.
The new case against Tremayne Johnson also suggests that he has bad luck with the city's video surveillance cameras, according to police charging documents.
Police say that CitiWatch cameras caught the young men walking and later torching the dog, who was nicknamed "Phoenix" by rescue workers before she was euthanized, and there appeared to be a clear shot of Tremayne on a video shown in court during their trial, jurors said.
Cameras again caught Tremayne in February, when he and a another teen were "observed directing a large number of individuals inside and outside the T&H grocery store in a manner consistent with hand to hand street level narcotic activity," a charging document filed in court states. When officers approached Tremayne and asked if he had any illegal items on him, he admitted to having "weed… inside [his] front pants pocket," police allege in the court papers.
Tremayne was charged with marijuana possession in Baltimore District Court, though the case was transferred last month to Circuit Court for a jury trial. It's now scheduled to be heard July 26 — the same day the new Phoenix trial is set to begin for both brothers and the day Travers is also to face fourth-degree burglary charges.
Travers is charged with breaking into a vacant building owned by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City on the 1700 block of North Calhoun St. while trying to elude police in October. He was charged with breaking and entering, attempted murder and assault from an incident several days earlier.
Charging documents allege that Travers Johnson got into a fight with another man and "pulled a black handgun from his waist area and shot" three rounds from two to four feet away toward the man and his sister. His trial in that case is set for August.
Tremayne's attorney in the drug case, Robert M. Johnson Jr., said he could not discuss the charges because of a gag order in the animal cruelty trial. Travers' attorney could not be reached for comment Friday.
