[Chat] Firebombing at Edna McAbier's house

[Emily Chalmers]

In the interest of security, it would be best not to theorize on any of the
chat lists about whose house was firebombed.  

We can refer to the victim as "our neighbor," which is certainly what the
victim is--the house is all of two blocks from mine.

Emily Chalmers
echalmers at mindspring.com
Why Wait?  Move to EarthLink.


> [Original Message]
> From: Emil Volcheck <volcheck at acm.org>
> To: <chat at charlesvillage.info>
> Cc: 
> Date: 1/17/2005 12:05:28 PM
> Subject: [Chat] Firebombing at Edna McAbier's house
>
> Steve Gewirtz found this article on the Sun's website.  People are
> pretty sure that this is Edna McAbier, president of the Harwood
> Community Association.  At the last CVCBD Board meeting, she was
> talking about the drug dealing on her block.
>
> This is a bit scary.  I hope they got the right guys.
>
> --Emil
>
>
> Four held in attack on home of activist
>
> Harwood resident unhurt in firebombing; Woman was helping city police
>
> By Richard Irwin
> Sun Staff
>
> Originally published January 17, 2005
>
> Four young men were in custody yesterday and may face federal charges
> in the firebombing this weekend of the North Baltimore home of a woman
> described by Baltimore police as an outspoken community activist, city
> police said.
>
> The firebombing was described by police spokesman Matt Jablow as
> retaliation for the woman helping authorities by providing information
> about drug trafficking in her Harwood neighborhood, just east of
> Charles Village.
>
> About 1:30 a.m. Saturday, four Molotov cocktails - glass bottles
> filled with a flammable fluid and fitted with a wick - were thrown
> against the outside wall of the woman's East Lorraine Avenue home,
> said Sgt. John Wallace of the city police arson squad.
>
> Two of the devices ignited, setting fires that caused minor damage to
> the home's exterior, he said.
>
> Wallace said the woman was in bed at the time, and went to her window
> when she saw flames rising from the front of her home and called 911
> to alert the Fire Department.
>
> Jablow declined to identify the 59-year-old woman, who was not
> injured. He said that she has been relocated out of concern for her
> safety and that her home was put under a protective 24- hour watch by
> city police.
>
> Wallace said city arson detectives and agents of the federal Bureau of
> Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested four suspects at
> various locations.
>
> Arrested Saturday night were Jackie Brewington, 18, of the 4100 block
> of Marx Ave. in Northeast Baltimore and Antonino Newsome, 18, of the
> 300 block of E. Lorraine Ave. Two other suspects, Andre Wilkins, 31,
> of Randallstown and Richard M. Royal, 20, of the 600 block of Wyanoke
> Ave., were arrested last night at their homes, said Detective Aaron
> Perkins.
>
> "We worked round the clock on this one," Perkins said.
>
> All four suspects have been charged with attempted arson and
> possession of destructive devices, and were being held at Central
> Booking and Intake Center, police said.
>
> "The case of firebombing the woman's home will be presented to the
> U.S. attorney's office on Tuesday for prosecution, and more arrests
> are expected," Jablow said.
>
> "Crimes like this strike at the very heart of the criminal justice
> system," he said. "We cannot and will not tolerate it. With a crime
> such as this, they deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the
> law."
>
> An East Baltimore firebombing in October 2002 that left a couple and
> five of their children dead - retaliation against the mother for
> complaining to police about neighborhood drug trafficking - was
> prosecuted in federal court, where a small-time dealer pleaded guilty
> and received a life sentence.
>
> -- 
> Emil Volcheck
> volcheck at acm.org
> http://acm.org/~volcheck
>
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