Why Baltimore is Like a Shoot-em-up

Baltimore's Criminal Justice System has been a complete disaster for decades. here's but one sad example:

Wounded officer arrested same defendant in '07

A Baltimore man charged with the attempted murder of a police officer who was trying to make an undercover drug purchase Friday night was arrested in December 2007 by the same officer, court records show.

According to online court records, Baltimore police Officer Dante Arthur was the complainant when Sean A. Cox was charged with trespass and possession of marijuana Dec. 27, 2007.

Cox, whose address is listed in the 6100 block of Alta Ave., pleaded guilty to the possession charge in Baltimore District Court and was fined $75 in March 2008. The trespass charge was dropped.

Anthony Guglielmi, director of public information for the Police Department, said last night that he had no information about Cox's previous arrest by Arthur.

Cox, 22, was one of three men charged with attempted murder in the shooting Friday of Arthur, who was working undercover outside a housing complex in the 400 block of Orchard St., in the Seton Hill neighborhood.

Arthur, an eight-year veteran of the Police Department, was listed in critical but stable condition last night at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. He was shot twice in the face.

Prior arrest records

In addition to Cox, police arrested Antwan Cox, 19, of the 400 block of Orchard St., and Sean Smith, 23, of the 400 block of Mount Holly St.

Each was charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and other offenses. All have prior arrest records, according to police.

Police said Arthur and his partner, Officer Daniel Harper, were working in plain clothes in the 500 block of Orchard St. about 8 p.m. Friday when Sean Cox approached and offered to sell them cocaine. When they attempted to arrest him, police said, Cox became violent and tried to take Arthur's weapon. Cox then broke free and fled.

Police said Antwan Cox and Smith opened fire on Arthur and Harper and that both officers fired back. Arthur was shot in the cheek and jaw.

Smith was found by police inside 550 Orchard St. with a .357 magnum revolver believed to have been used in the shooting as well as a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. Smith had a gunshot wound in his left calf.

Antwan Cox was arrested at Maryland General Hospital, police said, where he was seeking treatment for a gunshot wound to the right leg.

Police said they had not determined whether Sean and Antwan Cox are related. The three defendants were arrested Saturday.

Police union President Robert F. Cherry said Arthur is in good spirits and his doctors expect a full recovery.

The union official said one bullet shattered the officer's jaw and several teeth while the other grazed a cheek.

Drug complaints

The shooting took place in the Orchard Mews complex in Seton Hill.

Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, Seton Hill combines some of the city's oldest rowhouses with the troubled complex where the shooting took place, an area where neighbors say dealers run an open-air drug market.