Author Colin Flaherty Commentary Video "'I lived that day all over again for nothing:' Widow of slain Baltimore man laments acquittal in case" "West Philly beer deli owner stunned by plea deal for gunman who shot him" black mob violence murder robbery shootings plea barging reduced prison sentence jail time Chocolate City District Attorney
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-michael-bailey-acquitted-20181109-story.html
Lillian Reed The Baltimore Sun
November 9, 2018
When Tina Forrester’s husband was shot and killed in 2017 outside of the Baltimore Tattoo Museum, she made him a silent promise to never stop fighting to see justice for his death.
But Forrester said her hopes dimmed last month when a jury acquitted a man of the only charges filed in connection with her husband’s death.
“I lived that day all over again for nothing,” she said.
A jury acquitted Michael Bailey, 30, of the 2600 block of Ashland Ave., at a trial that relied heavily on video footage leading up to and of the killing. Bailey had been charged with first- and second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and other counts related to possession of a firearm, according to court records.
On Dec. 17, 2017, Jim Forrester, a local rock musician who worked as a body piercer, had stepped outside the museum and shop in the 1500 block of Eastern Ave. about 7:36 p.m. to call his wife when he was shot in the chest, according to police.
Bailey told investigators that he was one of the two men pictured in surveillance footage captured near the scene of the crime that night, said his defense attorney Christopher Purpura.
In the footage released publicly in January, Bailey can be seen carrying a coffee cup in one hand and a cigarette in another — a detail Purpura said proves Bailey was not holding the gun when the murder occurred.
“Unfortunately for the state, they were never able to arrest the person we think was responsible for the shooting,” Purpura said. “The detectives did a thorough investigation and identified Mr. Bailey as an individual that was present. The video evidence was fairly clear he wasn't the shooter.”
Tina Forrester said the footage was blurry and not clear enough to show whether Bailey or the second man was the shooter.
Bailey cooperated with law enforcement to identify himself in the footage but said he could not identify the second man, who the defense argued pulled the trigger, Purpura said.
A second individual has not been charged in the case.
Forrester disagreed with the jury’s decision, particularly on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, she said through tears Friday.
“I agree they could not prove definitively he was the shooter, but he should have gotten some time for being complicit,” she said.
http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/crime/philly-beer-deli-owner-shooting-gunman-krasner-plea-sentence-20181115.html
by Julie Shaw, Updated: November 15, 2018
A would-be robber who shot and critically wounded a former West Philadelphia beer deli owner in May was sentenced to 3½ to 10 years in state prison Thursday as part of a plea deal that was approved by prosecutors — and that left his victim stunned.
Under the agreement, the District Attorney's Office dropped attempted murder and other charges against the defendant, Jovaun Patterson, 29. The hearing took about two minutes before Common Pleas Court Judge Rayford Means and apparently happened without any prior notification to the victim or his family.
"No one called, no one sent me a letter," the former deli owner, Mike Poeng, 50, said in an interview. In a text message, his nephew Rich Poeng, 32, called the plea agreement and sentence "pretty outrageous."
Patterson, of the 5400 block of Delancey Street in West Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, robbery, and possession of an instrument of crime.
About 1:30 p.m. May 5, Patterson, armed with an AK-47, approached Mike Poeng outside his KCJ Inc. store at 54th and Spruce Streets while Poeng was washing his car. Patterson tried to push Poeng into his store in an attempt to rob it while Poeng's wife and sons were inside.
The store's outdoor surveillance video showed Patterson punching Poeng and the deli owner fighting back — even spraying his attacker with his water hose — before Patterson shot him in the right hip.
