Apr 30, 2008 6:49 pm US/Eastern
Police Search For Witness In Murder Case
BALTIMORE (AP) ―
A Baltimore man accused of running over a 65-year-old man with his car, then dragging the victim before running him over again, will not go to trial because prosecutors could not locate a key witness who wrote them an anonymous letter.
In the letter, the witness names Montay A. Jackson, 35, as the driver of the SUV that ran over and killed Charles R. Erdman in East Baltimore on March 3, 2007. The witness also writes that he fears he would be killed for coming forward with information about Jackson.
Prosecutors are eager to talk to the witness so they can pursue murder charges against Jackson, said Margaret T. Burns, a spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office.
The letter, delivered a few weeks after the incident, also pointed investigators to the location of the SUV that ran over Erdman, but by the time police got there, the vehicle was gone. It was never recovered, depriving investigators of the opportunity to use DNA evidence to bolster their case against Jackson, Burns said.
"If we had the car, we can put him in it as the driver," Burns said.
Without the car, it would be difficult to prove without the witness' cooperation that Jackson was behind the wheel, Burns said. Prosecutors decided not to press ahead with the case, which was scheduled for trial Wednesday.
Jackson's public defender, Thomas Kane, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
According to court documents, Jackson and Erdman were involved in a fender-bender outside an auto parts shop where Erdman worked.
The accident occurred after Jackson attempted to drive around Erdman's pickup truck while Erdman waited for traffic to clear.
Erdman stepped out of his truck to inspect the damage and asked for Jackson's insurance information, the documents show. Jackson became agitated and drove forward while Erdman was standing in front of the SUV, striking him as he screamed, "Stop, please stop," the papers show.
Witnesses told police that Erdman's clothing got caught on the undercarriage of the SUV, and Erdman was dragged a few blocks. The driver slowed down and opened his door, and Erdman became dislodged before the driver accelerated and ran over Erdman, leaving him motionless on the street, the documents show.
Erdman died six days later.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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