Fourth Teen Sentenced In Officer Amy Caprio Murder

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — The last teen involved in the murder of Officer Amy Caprio was sentenced Monday, Sept. 30. He and two others had reached a plea agreement with the state to serve 30 years in prison.

Darrell Jaymar Ward, 16, of the 2300 block of Ashland Avenue in Baltimore, was reportedly sentenced to life in prison Monday with all but 30 years in prison suspended. His sentence is identical to that of two accomplices who were burglarizing homes in Perry Hall while their friend ran over and killed Caprio on May 21, 2018, police said.

Eugene Robert Genius, 19, of the 400 block of North Lakewood Road in Baltimore, and Derrick Eugene Matthews, 17, of the 200 block of South Dallas Court in Baltimore, were sentenced two weeks ago. The group stole a handgun and other items in the Perry Hall burglaries, their indictments said.

The gun that was stolen in the Perry Hall home burglaries has not been found, according to WBAL, which reported this crime was not Ward's first encounter with the law. He had car theft and burglary on his juvenile record.

As the teens were walking around houses burglarizing them on Linwen Way the afternoon of May 21, 2018, Caprio was responding to the situation, which came in as a call about suspicious circumstances. While she was en route, she was informed there was a suspect vehicle described as a black Jeep.

When she approached the vehicle, driver Dawnta Harris began to exit the Jeep, then got back in and quickly accelerated, running over and killing Caprio, police said.

Harris, 17, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in August for the officer's murder.

If a person dies while an individual is committing a burglary, that individual may be charged with murder, Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger said after the indictments were handed down by a grand jury in May 2018, explaining why all the teens were charged with murder.

"He will certainly have a long time to think about that," Shellenberger told WBAL Monday, after the sentencing, where Ward's attorneys tried to convince the judge that he had changed in jail by praying for Caprio's family and studying. "It's too late for change," Schellenberger reportedly said.

See More On The Officer Amy Caprio Case:

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