Gov. Hogan Asks Frosh To Pursue Violent Offenders In Baltimore

During a visit to Baltimore on Wednesday evening, Gov. Larry Hogan announced that he is directing Attorney General Brian Frosh to prosecute more violent crime cases in Baltimore City and asking Maryland State Police to execute more high-priority warrants for violent offenders.

Though Maryland's attorney general is independent of the governor, the attorney general's office may pursue cases at the direction or with the permission of the governor or lawmakers.

“I hereby direct you to independently investigate and prosecute criminal suits alleging violations of State criminal laws that relate to any of the following offenses in which any element of the crime occurs within Baltimore City: crimes of violence; crimes related to firearms; and organized crime," Hogan wrote in a letter to Frosh.

Hogan tied the direction to his repeated criticism of judges and what he sees as frequently lenient sentences given to repeat violent offenders.

“Far too often in Baltimore City, violent offenders get a slap on the wrist and are released back out onto the streets to commit yet another violent offense," Hogan wrote. "Removing these dangerous high-level offenders from the streets is vital to our fight against violent crime.”

The letter asks Frosh to investigate cases resulting from the service of certain warrants by state troopers and law enforcement partners. Hogan asked for regular progress reports on these cases.

In an interview, Frosh said he first learned about Hogan's directive not from the governor but through media reports. Nevertheless, he said his office stands ready to help. Five years ago, he established a unit focused on organized crime. On Wednesday, that unit secured a 15-year prison sentence for a former correctional officer who served as a gang leader for the Eight-Tray Crips.

"We have eight prosecutors who have punched above their weight," Frosh said.

Phil Yacuboski interviews Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh:

However, he said the sort of work Hogan wants his office to do is outside the typical purview of the attorney general.

"We're happy to help. We'll work with the state's attorney. We'll work with the governor. We're going to need a lot more people based on what I can tell from his letter... but we're available to help," Frosh said. "It depends on how many cases they want us to handle."

He said he'd like to meet with Hogan to get a better sense of what he wants and convey his need for additional prosecutors and investigators.

The warrant initiative by police is to begin immediately, according to Hogan's office.

In a news conference arranged after the announcement, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said the governor's office did not consult her about the decision but she's glad Hogan has taken an interest in Baltimore's violent crime.

"The one thing I can say is that out of my office it's not a tit for tat. Year to date we have a 92% felony conviction rate. Our no-pros numbers are down so I look forward to sitting down with the governor and talking about real solutions," Mosby said.

This isn't the first warrant surge of its kind. Last year, the state worked with partners at all levels to focus 500 officers on arresting violent offenders. That effort saw 3,300 arrests, including 259 of Baltimore's most violent offenders. Hundreds of guns were seized and 272 gun cases were referred to federal prosecutors.

In a letter last week to Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young and Police Commissioner Michael Harrison, Hogan said Harrison's crime reduction strategy didn't go far enough and pledged more state resources to fight city crime.

.@GovLarryHogan says one of the suspects in the shooting of Sgt. Isaac Carrington had multiple murder and gun charges, "and yet he was walking the streets and was able to shoot a police officer in the back." #WBAL — Vanessa Herring (@VanessaWBAL) September 18, 2019

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Phil Yacuboski and WBAL-TV 11 contributed to this report.