Donnie Andrews

Background

Larry Donnell Andrews (April 29, 1954 – December 13, 2012) was an American criminal and anti-crime advocate.

Andrews grew up in Baltimore and became a stickup artist. He grew up in a housing project in West Baltimore. He was physically abused by his mother. At the age of 10, he witnessed a man being beaten to death over 15 cents. Andrews became known to police for armed robbery and drug dealing in the 1970s and early 1980s in Baltimore.

Andrews robbed drug dealers but avoided involving innocent bystanders. He followed a code that included never involving women or children.

The offence

In 1986, Andrews committed a double murder for a local drug kingpin. The victims were Zachary Roach and Rodney “Touche” Young.

Andrews later surrendered to the police after committing the double murder in 1986. He confessed to the murders.

Investigation

Local drug kingpin Warren Boardley convinced Andrews, needing to support his heroin addiction, and Reggie Gross to take on the contract killing of Zachary Roach and Rodney “Touche” Young.

Andrews surrendered to Ed Burns, a homicide detective with the Baltimore Police Department. Working with Burns, Andrews agreed to wear a covert listening device, which he used to implicate Boardley and Gross in the killings.

Arrest

Andrews surrendered himself to Ed Burns after the murders.

Trial

In 1987, Andrews was sentenced for the two murders he committed in 1986.

Sentencing

Andrews was sentenced to life in prison for the two murders in 1987. He was denied parole on his first attempts.

Appeals

By 1998, a lobbying effort for Andrews’ release involved Burns, David Simon, and the lead prosecutor who obtained Andrews’ conviction.

Outcome

Andrews was released in 2005.

Andrews continued to study while incarcerated. He ended his addiction to heroin and helped other inmates with an anti-gang workshop.

Aftermath

After his release, Andrews began counseling inmates to avoid gang life and continued anti-gang outreach. He performed youth outreach after his release. His foundation, “Why Murder?”, attempted to steer children away from a life of crime.

While Andrews was in prison, David Simon sent him copies of the newspaper and Andrews gave Simon information about crimes taking place in Baltimore. Simon named Andrews a consultant on The Wire, an HBO series about crime in Baltimore. Simon used Andrews as an inspiration for the character of Omar Little, a stickup artist who never targeted innocent bystanders. Andrews appeared on screen as one of Omar’s crew.

Andrews also became connected to The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood through Fran Boyd. Burns introduced Andrews to Fran Boyd while Andrews was in prison. Boyd was the inspiration for the character of the same name on The Corner. The first conversation between Andrews and Boyd came in January 1993, when Boyd was still using drugs. Andrews encouraged Boyd to get clean. Andrews and Boyd married on August 11, 2007. Wedding guests included Simon and The Wire cast members Dominic West, Sonja Sohn, and Andre Royo.

Andrews suffered from an aortic dissection and died as a result on December 13, 2012 in Manhattan at the age of 58.

Other details

• Andrews became an electrician, took a college course by mail, and began mentoring younger inmates while incarcerated.
• Michael Millemann, an attorney who represented Andrews, recalled meeting him while he was still behind bars and that he was counseling younger inmates.
• Andrews was described as working on efforts to promote a non-profit outreach foundation and as being involved in a project to have greenhouses for an urban farming initiative in the Oliver neighborhood.
• Andrews was said to have been around violence most of his life, with his mother physically abusing him.
• Ed Burns and David Simon were described as having relationships with Andrews, including mentoring and collaborative work.
• Joan Jacobson was quoted with a passage beginning: “From what he told me, he had few epiphanies. His decision to transform his life came over many years, even decades.”
• Donnie Andrews was referenced as inspiring the fictional character Omar Little on The Wire, portrayed by Michael K. Williams, and Andrews’ real-life leap from a building was discussed in connection with his appearance in a shootout scene in which Omar escapes by leaping from a four-story building.