By Nia Fitzhugh | Fox45 News • January 5, 2023 | Original Source
BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Baltimore County Thursday.
32-year-old Ricky Raheem Charles received the life-long sentence in Baltimore County Circuit Court for first degree premeditated murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence. He received a concurrent term of 20 years for the handgun violation.
According to police, at approximately 6:30 p.m. on September 19, 2019, officers responded to a reported shooting near Fairview Avenue in Dundalk.
There, the police found Melissa West lying in the street in front of her home suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
She had been shot in the chest and back and died as a result. Investigation by the Baltimore County Police disclosed that there had been a dispute between the victim and the operator of a blue Dodge SUV on Avondale Road shortly before the shooting.
Police were able to identify Ricky Raheem Charles as the person in the Dodge and learned pursued West to her home before shooting her following an argument.
In the investigation, the Homicide Detectives were able to track surveillance video from the area. A witness also testified that Charles had acknowledged killing the victim and said he spit on her after he shot her.
The police were able to locate saliva on the victim's face which was matched to the DNA of Charles. At the time of his arrest, Charles acknowledged being in the area where the shooting occurred at the time of the shooting.
State’s Attorney, Scott Shellenberger, noted “the excellent job the Baltimore County Police did in identifying Ricky Charles in order to bring him to justice for this outrageous act.”
Shellenberger also offered his 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.”
Baltimore County to Life without the possibility of parole for the Murder and a concurrent term of twenty years for the Handgun violation.