Darrell Brooks

Case identification

Darrell Brooks was charged and convicted in federal court for an arson that resulted in the deaths of seven members of the Dawson family.

Background

A fatal fire killed seven members of the Dawson family in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 16, 2002. The victims were Angela Dawson, her husband Carnell Dawson, and their five children.

Relatives and officials described a history of disputes and repeated calls to police connected to drug dealing in the neighborhood of Oliver. Angela Dawson repeatedly alerted police to drug dealing, assault, and other crime in the East Baltimore area of Oliver. After Angela’s complaints, the family died in an attack after their home was firebombed.

Darrell Brooks was described as a neighbor of the Dawsons and as having a criminal history that included a “string of arrests.” In the federal proceedings, court records described Brooks as a “sometime drug trafficker.” Investigators and prosecutors presented the arson as retaliation for the Dawsons’ repeated calls to police about neighborhood drug dealing. Brooks pleaded guilty and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

The offence

October 16, 2002 fatal fire

On October 16, 2002, Brooks kicked open the door of the Dawson home at 1401 E. Preston St., doused the front hall with gasoline, and set it on fire. Prosecutors described the fire spreading across the first floor and then climbing to the second and third floors where Angela Dawson and the children slept.

Angela Dawson, 36, died in the fire. The five children who died were:

• Lawanda Ortiz, 14
• Juan Ortiz, 12
• Carnell Dawson Jr., 10
• Kevin Dawson, 9
• Keith Dawson, 9

Carnell Dawson Sr., 43, escaped by leaping from a second-story window. He was found unconscious on the sidewalk outside and died later from injuries.

Relatives and witnesses described the severity of the blaze and the lack of opportunity to escape once the fire was set. Police and prosecutors stated that the attack was retaliation for repeated calls to police by Carnell and Angela Dawson about neighborhood drug dealing.

Prior arson attempt and alleged “cocktail bombs”

As part of a plea deal, Brooks admitted an earlier attempt to set fire to the family’s home on October 3, 2002. Weinstein stated that Brooks told drug associates that he had thrown two “cocktail bombs” into the house because “Mrs. Dawson was snitching on people.”

A few hours before the fatal fire, Brooks told a friend that although the “first time” had not worked, “he was going to make sure he `gets' Mrs. Dawson this time,” Weinstein said.

Investigation

Police and fire investigators linked Brooks to the October 16 fire by forensic evidence. Police initially declined to discuss the forensic details. Investigators used court filings and witness accounts to describe Brooks’s antagonism toward the Dawsons in the days and weeks before the fatal fire.

Prosecutors described the Dawsons as having repeatedly complained to police. Court filings described that the Dawsons called police or the city 109 times between 2000 and 2002 to report drug activity.

Arrest and pre-trial events

Brooks was arrested within hours of the October 16, 2002 fire and was initially charged in state court.

Federal authorities later brought charges in U.S. District Court. A federal prosecution was pursued because the case could involve harsher penalties and a different jury pool.

Brooks was on probation at the time of the fire and had allegedly been left unsupervised. State officials acknowledged failures in supervision and record checks related to Brooks’s probation status.

State charges and bail

Brooks was denied bail in District Court. A preliminary hearing was set for Nov 21.

A bail hearing included testimony and recitation of facts detailing the blaze, including that the fire killed Angela Maria Dawson, 36, and her children: Keith and Kevin Dawson, 9; Carnell Dawson Jr., 10; Juan Ortiz, 12; and LaWanda Ortiz, 14. It also stated that Carnell Dawson Sr., 43, who jumped from a second-story window, was critically injured and remained in critical condition in a hospital at that time.

Witnesses described seeing Brooks kick in the front door of the Dawsons’ three-story rowhouse in the 1400 block of E. Preston St. and pour gasoline inside.

A bag containing a glass jar and a measuring pump that contained liquid smelling like gasoline was described as found in Brooks’s bedroom and undergoing testing.

Earlier pending charges and unrelated alleged robbery

Weeks before the deadly blaze, court documents alleged Brooks robbed a pizza deliveryman at gunpoint. The deliveryman told detectives he saw Brooks’s face in the news and realized it was the person who had robbed him.

The pizza deliveryman robbery was described as occurring at 9:20 a.m. Sept. 12. Two men approached the deliveryman, put a gun to his head, and demanded money. The victim handed over his wallet containing $60. Prosecutors said the gunman looked like Brooks, and a photo array resulted in identification.

Brooks was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon and assault, with bail set at $1 million in connection with those charges, while he was held without bail in connection with the October 16 fire.

Timeline

• October 3, 2002 — Prosecutors described an earlier arson attempt in which Brooks admitted throwing two “cocktail bombs” into the Dawson home because “Mrs.
• October 16, 2002 — Brooks kicked open the door of the Dawson home at 1401 E. Preston St., doused the front hall with gasoline, and set the home on fire, killing Angela Dawson and five children and later killing Carnell Dawson Sr.
• October 18, 2002 — Police charged Brooks with arson and six counts of murder in connection with the fire.
• October 19, 2002 — State officials acknowledged failures in supervision of Brooks while he was on probation; Brooks was denied bail and a preliminary hearing was set for Nov 21.
• October 29, 2002 — Brooks was charged in connection with an alleged robbery of a pizza deliveryman at gunpoint occurring Sept. 12.
• December 12, 2002 — Brooks was indicted on federal charges that could bring the death penalty.
• January 17, 2003 — Brooks pleaded not guilty in federal court; a Sept. 22 trial date was set.
• February 17, 2003 — Court records and recordings were described relating to police calls by the Dawsons and a March 21, 2001 effort to chase away a dealer.
• August 23, 2003 — Coverage described an expected guilty plea at a re-arraignment and sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis.
• August 28, 2003 — Brooks pleaded guilty to an arson resulting in the deaths of seven people and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
• August 27, 2003 — Brooks was sentenced to life in prison without parole (date given as the sentencing date).

Trial and plea

Brooks pleaded not guilty in federal court on January 17, 2003, to federal charges of setting a fatal fire.

Later, Brooks pleaded guilty in federal court. At the sentencing hearing, Brooks faced relatives of the seven victims and told the court he had wished for his own death as punishment. Brooks’s guilty plea was to an arson resulting in the deaths of seven people, and prosecutors accepted a plea deal in which a life sentence without parole was guaranteed.

Defence and mitigation

Defense counsel described Brooks as having mental difficulties and offered mitigation. U.S. Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio stated that Brooks’s mental capacity was so diminished that there was a chance he could have been precluded from facing a death sentence.

A federal public defender did not elaborate on certain remarks later in the proceedings and declined to comment regarding an assertion that Brooks was “brain damaged.”

The judge, U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis, accepted Brooks’s guilty plea and handed down the life sentence.

Sentencing

Brooks was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Aftermath and related legal action

Dawson Safe Haven Community Center

The house where the Dawsons died reopened in April 2007 as the Dawson Safe Haven Community Center.

A program was described as intended to help children with their studies while keeping them away from the temptations of the streets. Pamella V. Carter was described as running programs in the home that had been set afire. The center was described as serving children in the Oliver neighborhood. A waiting list for the after-school program was described.

Civil litigation by relatives

In 2005, relatives of the Dawson family filed suit against the city, state, and various agencies. The lawsuit alleged that despite the launch of the Believe campaign in 2002 encouraging residents to supply information about drug dealers, there were insufficient resources to protect witnesses who came forward.

The lawsuit was dismissed, and the dismissal was upheld in an appeal to the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Other details

Prior criminal justice system history and probation supervision issues

State officials acknowledged that at the time of the fire, Brooks could have been jailed for failing to report to his state probation officer as required under an April conviction for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. State officials said they had not found documented contact with a probation agent and that supervision and record checks were insufficient.

A review resulted in three employees being disciplined.

Arrest and court procedure details in federal court

Brooks was initially described as scheduled for trial next month, but court records indicated he would plead guilty at a re-arraignment and sentencing hearing scheduled Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis.

Quotes and statements

Wanda Brewer, 52, who returned to the neighborhood, was quoted:

“Nothing changed,” said Brewer, who lives on East Oliver Street. “We just got poorer — a lot of us went to jail.”

Pamela V. Carter, who ran programs at the center, said:

“Standing here now you can hear children laughing and talking,” said Pamela V. Carter, a former city councilwoman who runs the programs in the home that was set afire by a drug dealer in retaliation for Dawson's complaints to police. “Out of that tragedy you can hear something positive.”

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi was quoted:

“Sometimes you'll go to a shooting and [people will] know exactly who shot them but they won't tell us,” said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

Darrell Brooks spoke in court at sentencing, saying:

“I thought the only way I could pay for my actions was with my own life,” Brooks said as tears rolled down his cheeks.
“I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. ... I will never, ever, as long as there's breath in my lungs, I will never forgive myself.”

Brooks also said:

“I didn't think I deserved life in prison. I thought I deserved nothing but death,” Brooks said. “Then I thought, `No. The pain's got to stop somewhere.' ”

Brooks further said:

“Crying harder, Brooks said he had known and loved the Dawson children: “I didn't mean it. I swear I didn't mean it. I swear.”

U.S. Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio was quoted:

“He's got another 50 or 60 years to think about what he did every day while he sits in that cell,” DiBiagio said.
“What a colossal waste - seven people are murdered by this drug punk.”

U.S. Attorney DiBiagio also said:

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Weinstein was quoted describing statements attributed to Brooks:

“Mrs. Dawson was snitching on people.”
“first time”
“he was going to make sure he `gets' Mrs. Dawson this time”

Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris was quoted:

“They acted heroically,” Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris said. “They did the things good citizens should do.”

Councilwoman Pamela V. Carter was quoted:

“All they get is a slap on the wrist and come out the revolving door,” said Councilwoman Pamela V. Carter, who was the Dawsons' backdoor neighbor.

City Councilman Melvin L. Stukes was quoted:

“I know that we do not have the manpower on the Police Department to man every corner. That's what we've got the military for,” said City Councilman Melvin L. Stukes, who called the governor's office with a request to send in the Guard. “The military is being used on the sniper, with the spy plane. Well, this is terror, too.”

State Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden was quoted:

“We have terrorist cells of juvenile drug dealers,” McFadden said. “We liken it to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. Same kind of thing. And it's all over the city. And they have no fear of retribution. It's just a brazen attack when you firebomb a person's house two times within a month. ... We want to respond just like the Israelis would respond when they're bombed. You bomb them one day, they take action the next day.”

Baltimore Fire Chief William J. Goodwin Jr. was described as recalling standing in the burned-out rowhouse on the morning of the fire. No direct quotation was provided in the material.

Victim and family-related details

Carnell Dawson’s sister Alice McNack described hearing the news while driving to work. The quoted lines attributed to her included:

“My brother taught his children what maybe Darrell Brooks didn't get at home - love of family,” McNack said.

Novella Solomon was quoted:

“We went to the cemetery yesterday, and it was again just like saying hello and goodbye to them at once,” Solomon said.

Tameka Evans was quoted:

“I have to live watching my sisters grow up and thinking what my brothers would be doing at that stage in their lives,” Evans said.
“I'm really trying hard to forgive, but it's going to be a long journey.”

Angela Dawson’s mother Donnell Golden was quoted:

“It's all so unbelievable,” Golden said, fingering the bear, which she said she carries with her at all times.
“You know, it's like a dream. And maybe someday you'll wake up and find out it's not true. But we know it is.”

Names and ages of victims and other named individuals in proceedings

Victims and their ages were stated as: Angela Dawson, 36; Lawanda Ortiz, 14; Juan Ortiz, 12; Carnell Dawson Jr., 10; Kevin and Keith Dawson, both 9; and Carnell Dawson Sr., 43.

Named court and prosecutorial figures included: U.S. Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio; Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Weinstein; Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Purcell; U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis; federal public defender James Wyda; and Maryland Federal Public Defender James Wyda (same individual as described).

Named officials included Police Commissioner Kevin P. Clark and Baltimore State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy.

Named locations and addresses

The Dawson family home was described as being at 1401 E. Preston St.

Brooks was described as living at the 1200 block of N. Eden St. and also as living with his sister in the Oliver Street community. The Dawsons’ neighborhood was described as Oliver, near Greenmount Cemetery.