A Rodgers Forge resident has been charged with assault after allegedly pointing a gun at children on Thursday afternoon, according to a Baltimore County police spokeswoman. The suspect vehemently denies the charges.
“Three juveniles (ages 12-13) were walking in the alley along the southern side of Old Trail Road when a young man came out of a house and began yelling at the students for making too much noise. The juveniles said he used racial slurs,” said police spokeswoman Elise Armacost. “They said they tried to avoid the suspect by walking along Old Trail Road instead of the alley, but they came across the suspect sitting on the front porch. The victims said the suspect went into the house and returned carrying a long gun, which they said he pointed in their direction.”
Police got a search warrant and seized “a number of” firearms, Armacost said, including one that matched what the victims described. The suspect, of the 400 block of Old Trail Road, has been charged with first- and second-degree assault, illegal possession of a firearm and use of a firearm in a felony, Armacost said.
He is 20 years old, she said, and not legally permitted to own guns.
The suspect, whom the Flyer is not naming unless he is convicted, said in an interview that he never pointed a gun at the kids. He said he saw them in the adjoining alley where they were breaking bottles and messing with trash cans and he told them to “f—ing stop.”
His home is behind Rita’s and Royal Farms, and he said residents often have issues with kids hanging out in the alleys.
“Then they called me a cracker and I just laughed and walked away,” he said. “I went out on my front porch to smoke a cigarette and they were just staring at me. I waved Hi and then they ran.”
He said he never brought a weapon outside. He is a registered owner of long guns, which he said is legal in Maryland for anyone 18 or older. The handguns in the house, he said, belong to his father, who also resides there. The family collects guns, he said, and the kids’ description of the gun was vague enough that it was not surprising that the police found one that matched.
“When I look at all the charges, I could be facing 135 years,” the emotional suspect said. “I didn’t do a single thing but the cops believed the kids.”
He is out on bail and a preliminary hearing date has not yet been set.