Three Witnesses

One of Baltimore's most troubling murder cases of the year has crumbled before trial, as witnesses' statements deteriorated in the case of 19-year-old Rio-Jarell Tatum, a Polytechnic Institute graduate and star athlete gunned down in a $10 holdup. Today, prosecutors plan to drop charges against Nathaniel Boyd Fedd, 30, who was arrested 13 days after Tatum was killed and charged with first-degree murder. Fedd's trial was scheduled to begin next week, but a spokeswoman for the Baltimore state's attorney's office said the case "simply is not viable."

Three witnesses. Three taped statements to police. Three recantations. One accused murderer set free. That about sums up the outcome of the recent murder trial of Matthew Troy Johnson, a 15-year-old who was acquitted in the shooting death of a 19-year-old man in an alleged dispute over drugs. Prosecutors took the extraordinary step of jailing two of the witnesses to ensure they wouldn't disappear, but it didn't matter. Once on the stand, witnesses said they had lied, changed their original stories or conveniently forgot.

Young Melvin Bettis was responsible for his own death when he was hit by a speeding police car while trying to cross Reisterstown Road near his home on April 27, according to a Baltimore Police Department investigation.Contributing to the accident, police said, was the officer's "failure to exercise due care and caution."The family of the boy, who lived in the 2800 block of Waldorf Ave., would not talk about the report yesterday. Relatives said they were too upset by it.A report of the accident -- in which Officer Robert L. Velte Jr. struck the 7-year-old at a speed of 52 mph to 56 mph while responding to a burglary call -- said the "primary cause" of the accident was "pedestrian error."

He is "Little Troy" in the streets, a teenager who in court documents admitted to supporting himself dealing drugs and who was charged with first-degree murder by age 14. Yesterday, a jury acquitted Matthew Troy Johnson, now 15, of first-degree murder and handgun violation charges in the December 2004 shooting of Flenall Carter III, 19. In an unusual show of emotion, the normally stoic teenager hugged his defense attorney after the verdict was read....

He is "Little Troy" in the streets, a teenager who in court documents admitted to supporting himself dealing drugs and who was charged with first-degree murder by age 14. Yesterday, a jury acquitted Matthew Troy Johnson, now 15, of first-degree murder and handgun violation charges in the December 2004 shooting of Flenall Carter III, 19. In an unusual show of emotion, the normally stoic teenager hugged his defense attorney after the verdict was read....

An Anne Arundel Circuit Court jury was expected to begin deliberating today over the fate of Bernard L. Ward, the 33-year-old man being retried for the 1988 murder of Edward Brewer.Judge Warren B. Duckett Jr. excused the jury late yesterday afternoon after the panel of six men and six women said they would prefer to return today rather than begin deliberations at 3:45 p.m., when closing arguments were completed.Mr. Ward, formerly of Glen Burnie, is being retried in the slaying of Mr. Brewer, 25, whose nude body was found about midnight Dec. 12, 1988, in the basement of a boarded-up, abandoned house along Crain Highway in Glen Burnie.

WASHINGTON -- Of the 18 sessions that the Senate has held in the impeachment trial of President Clinton, only one, yesterday's, was set aside for new evidence -- that is, evidence going beyond the report independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr filed with the House nearly five months ago. The presentation of that evidence raised a variety of questions. Sun staff writer Lyle Denniston supplies these answers.Does the new evidence -- portions of videotaped testimony of three witnesses -- add anything to the case for Clinton's conviction or against conviction?

After deliberating for 14 hours over three days, a jury declared itself hung yesterday, saying it could not unanimously decide whether defendant Donnell A. Ward shot and wounded a police officer and a teen-ager last year on an East Baltimore street. Baltimore Circuit Judge Allen L. Schwait declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury, telling the courtroom that all 12 jurors must agree in order to convict or acquit a defendant. Both the prosecution and the defense said they would retry the case.

Lawyers for Wesley Moore, on trial in the killing of Baltimore County police Sgt. Bruce A. Prothero, are using the same strategy that persuaded a city jury to acquit a man in January in the death of a city police officer. They are putting the police on trial. Prothero, a father of five, was shot three times Feb. 7, 2000, as he chased four men out of the J. Brown Jewelers store in Pikesville, where he was working a second job as a security guard. During the first week of Moore's trial, three witnesses - all with ties to Moore - recanted earlier statements to police and told a jury of seven white people and five African-Americans they were targets of police harassment.

KARACHI, Pakistan - Three witnesses were taken into protective custody yesterday and were being questioned about a car bomb explosion that killed at least 11 people outside the U.S. Consulate on Friday, police here said. They said the witnesses include a taxi passenger, an Islamic seminary student who was walking in the area, and a security guard who was posted in a park near the consulate compound. Investigators also said they were pursuing a theory that a remote-controlled bomb had been hidden in a Toyota Corolla that belonged to a driving school and regularly passed the consulate.

One of Baltimore's most troubling murder cases of the year has crumbled before trial, as witnesses' statements deteriorated in the case of 19-year-old Rio-Jarell Tatum, a Polytechnic Institute graduate and star athlete gunned down in a $10 holdup. Today, prosecutors plan to drop charges against Nathaniel Boyd Fedd, 30, who was arrested 13 days after Tatum was killed and charged with first-degree murder. Fedd's trial was scheduled to begin next week, but a spokeswoman for the Baltimore state's attorney's office said the case "simply is not viable."

A Baltimore jury acquitted a 22-year-old man yesterday in a case that exemplifies how extreme witness problems can undermine murder prosecutions in the city. Keko O. Worrell of the 1300 block of N. Caroline St. was on trial in the killing last August of Michael Lockett, 16, who was shot three times in the back in an East Baltimore parking lot as he was riding a bicycle. City prosecutor Gerald Volatile began the trial Tuesday with three witnesses - two of whom had been arrested for being uncooperative and were under court supervision.

KARACHI, Pakistan - Three witnesses were taken into protective custody yesterday and were being questioned about a car bomb explosion that killed at least 11 people outside the U.S. Consulate on Friday, police here said. They said the witnesses include a taxi passenger, an Islamic seminary student who was walking in the area, and a security guard who was posted in a park near the consulate compound. Investigators also said they were pursuing a theory that a remote-controlled bomb had been hidden in a Toyota Corolla that belonged to a driving school and regularly passed the consulate.

After deliberating for 14 hours over three days, a jury declared itself hung yesterday, saying it could not unanimously decide whether defendant Donnell A. Ward shot and wounded a police officer and a teen-ager last year on an East Baltimore street. Baltimore Circuit Judge Allen L. Schwait declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury, telling the courtroom that all 12 jurors must agree in order to convict or acquit a defendant. Both the prosecution and the defense said they would retry the case.

Lawyers for Wesley Moore, on trial in the killing of Baltimore County police Sgt. Bruce A. Prothero, are using the same strategy that persuaded a city jury to acquit a man in January in the death of a city police officer. They are putting the police on trial. Prothero, a father of five, was shot three times Feb. 7, 2000, as he chased four men out of the J. Brown Jewelers store in Pikesville, where he was working a second job as a security guard. During the first week of Moore's trial, three witnesses - all with ties to Moore - recanted earlier statements to police and told a jury of seven white people and five African-Americans they were targets of police harassment.

WASHINGTON -- Of the 18 sessions that the Senate has held in the impeachment trial of President Clinton, only one, yesterday's, was set aside for new evidence -- that is, evidence going beyond the report independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr filed with the House nearly five months ago. The presentation of that evidence raised a variety of questions. Sun staff writer Lyle Denniston supplies these answers.Does the new evidence -- portions of videotaped testimony of three witnesses -- add anything to the case for Clinton's conviction or against conviction?

Three witnesses. Three taped statements to police. Three recantations. One accused murderer set free. That about sums up the outcome of the recent murder trial of Matthew Troy Johnson, a 15-year-old who was acquitted in the shooting death of a 19-year-old man in an alleged dispute over drugs. Prosecutors took the extraordinary step of jailing two of the witnesses to ensure they wouldn't disappear, but it didn't matter. Once on the stand, witnesses said they had lied, changed their original stories or conveniently forgot.

A Baltimore jury acquitted a 22-year-old man yesterday in a case that exemplifies how extreme witness problems can undermine murder prosecutions in the city. Keko O. Worrell of the 1300 block of N. Caroline St. was on trial in the killing last August of Michael Lockett, 16, who was shot three times in the back in an East Baltimore parking lot as he was riding a bicycle. City prosecutor Gerald Volatile began the trial Tuesday with three witnesses - two of whom had been arrested for being uncooperative and were under court supervision.

WASHINGTON -- Rejecting Democratic protests, Senate Republicans imposed rules last night for President Clinton's impeachment trial that could lead to testimony by Monica Lewinsky before the Senate -- at least by videotape.The rules, approved by a mostly party-line vote, set the stage for the public release of videotaped depositions of the witnesses approved Wednesday, including Lewinsky.The procedures also leave open the prospect that the Senate could approve a "findings of fact" motion that would say Clinton lied under oath and "obstructed and impeded justice" when he testified to a federal grand jury and took certain actions in the Paula Corbin Jones sexual misconduct case.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted virtually along party lines yesterday to defeat a Democratic proposal to dismiss the impeachment charges against President Clinton, then summoned Monica Lewinsky and two others as trial witnesses.The tally on separate proposals to dismiss the charges and to depose witnesses made clear that nowhere near the required two-thirds of the Senate is ready to convict the president.Republicans and Democrats both drafted proposals last night that would end the trial by Feb. 12. Yet by summoning witnesses yesterday, the Senate shifted the trial into unpredictable territory.