Dear Lee Dotson: I believe I speak on behalf of the majority of citizens of Baltimore when I say we’re glad the police arrested you Monday afternoon. We’re glad because it looks as if another fellow with a gun has been taken off the streets, thereby reducing the possibility of at least one shooting in a city that has had too many this year already.
Of course, until the police and prosecution prove their cases beyond a reasonable doubt, you are innocent of the five charges against you – all of them violations of Maryland firearms law, including being a felon in possession of a gun.
I’m not telling you anything you do not already know. You are 26 years old, and based on court records, you have had a lot of contact with police, public defenders, prosecutors and judges since 2007.
It’s one thing for the police to arrest you, another for them to prove their case.
But now that we have that out of the way, let’s be real: You’re in trouble again, young man. The law says that a person found guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a gun "is subject to imprisonment for not less than 5 years and not exceeding 15 years."
Maryland has made some progress in keeping ex-offenders from committing new crimes and going back to prison. Still, four out of 10 former inmates end up back behind the walls within three years of their release. Today, a talk about the challenges of re-entry and what it’s like for inmates coming…
Maryland has made some progress in keeping ex-offenders from committing new crimes and going back to prison. Still, four out of 10 former inmates end up back behind the walls within three years of their release. Today, a talk about the challenges of re-entry and what it’s like for inmates coming…
Wait, there’s more: "The court may not suspend any part of the mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years."
That means, if convicted, you face at least five years, mandatory, in the Maryland prison system.
Look on the bright side: Getting pulled off the streets during a high season of violence in Baltimore is the best thing that could have happened to you. Your chances of being shot are greatly reduced. The police say they took a black revolver off you Monday afternoon in the 3100 block of Woodland Avenue in Northwest Baltimore. It’s safe to say that gun won’t be used to shoot anyone any time soon, if ever.
More people are experiencing the jolting experience of a carjacking in Baltimore this year. The crime is up 132 percent this year when compared to the same time last year, and it’s been rising dramatically over the past four years. (Baltimore Sun video)
More people are experiencing the jolting experience of a carjacking in Baltimore this year. The crime is up 132 percent this year when compared to the same time last year, and it’s been rising dramatically over the past four years. (Baltimore Sun video)
A new book, "Pill City," claims to tell the real story of the 2015 pharmacy thefts, but officials aren’t so sure. (Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun video)
A new book, “Pill City,” claims to tell the real story of the 2015 pharmacy thefts, but officials aren’t so sure. (Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun video)
Again, police and prosecutors have to make the charges stick. But at this juncture, while you’re waiting for your case to be called to court, you should think about your future. Maybe it’s time for a course correction. Guns and drugs, evident from your previous record, aren’t working out too well.
I do not know what your life has been like to this point. All I have are pieces – your latest mugshot, a photograph of the gun and the packages of marijuana the police say they confiscated, and your criminal record.
I’m guessing that maybe you have not had much luck finding legitimate work. Or maybe after unsatisfying experiences in the job market, you moved into more lucrative undertakings. Or perhaps there were other factors that led you to do things that sometimes resulted in arrests and jail time.
I’d be glad to visit you someday and hear your story.
If you’re wondering why I’m addressing you when there are hundreds of other guys I could call out in this column, the answer is simple: The report of your arrest happened to come across my desk as I was stewing, again, over the great contradiction of Baltimore in 2017: So much of our city is surging ahead while so much of it drags behind.
Over the past three years, Baltimore’s property wealth has grown at an average rate of 5.2 percent, twice the rate of the rest of Maryland. And the rise in incomes here, at 4.3 percent, has outpaced the state as well. According to reporting by my Sun colleague Luke Broadwater, Baltimore’s economy has added about 12,000 jobs since 2014. We’ve had six straight years of job growth.
Of course, this might mean nothing to you. Thousands of Baltimoreans do not "feel the surge," even though redevelopment projects have started to spread beyond the usual places. There is still too much poverty, too much disparity in incomes across the city.
I understand why a lot of young men do not feel invested in their hometown, why they have little regard for Baltimore’s civic life.
But what I no longer understand – and I’ve been stewing over it for a long time, and particularly since 2015 – is the violence, and why so many guys still risk their lives in the insane cycle of guns and drugs.
Maybe you think you’re stuck.
But you’re not. You can get help if you have the courage to ask for it. There are programs that show ex-offenders the way to new lives and jobs; the U.S. Attorney’s office in Baltimore compiled a full list of them. Ask me for it: 410-332-6166.
Lee Dotson: However your case turns out, take this opportunity to ask yourself what older guys used to ask me when I was your age: Where do you want to be five years from now?
Alive, and no longer in trouble, would be a good start. For you. For all of us.
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