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Ricky Raheem Charles, 32, was sentenced on Thursday, Jan. 5 to life in prison without parole after being convicted on in September last year of first-degree premeditated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence following an incident in September 2019.
The Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office said that at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2019, Baltimore County police investigators responded to Fairview Avenue in Dundalk, where there was a reported shooting.
Upon arrival, officers found Melissa West in the street in front of her home with gunshot wounds to her chest and back following an incident with Charles earlier in the evening.
The investigation determined that there was a dispute between the two on Avondale Road shortly before the shooting, prosecutors said. Charles then pursued West to her home, where he shot her following an argument.
Using surveillance video from the area, investigators were able to track down Charles, and a witness later testified that he acknowledged spitting on West after shooting her.
Police investigators noted that saliva was located on West's face, which was a match for Charles’ DNA, and he later admitted to being in the area where the shooting happened at the same time West was gunned down.
Prosecutors acknowledged “the excellent job the Baltimore County Police did in identifying Ricky Charles in order to bring him to justice for this outrageous act.”
In a statement, officials also offered their thanks to Allan Webster and Catharine Rosenblatt for their work “in presenting the case so capably to a jury to demonstrate the guilt of Ricky Charles.”
“Gun violence on the streets of our communities is something which must be aggressively pursued with the goal of eradicating all of the senseless and tragic harm it causes," he added.
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