Gahiji A. Tshamba, the Baltimore police officer wanted on first-degree murder charges, turned himself in early Sunday morning after a vigorous effort to locate him, according to police.
Tshamba arrived with his lawyer at Central Booking Intake Facility in Baltimore around 1:30 a.m., according to police. His surrender came after more than 24 hours of an intensified search by Baltimore police, which included mobilizing dozens of officers to comb city streets and distribute fliers to locate one of their own.
Police had declared him their “No. 1 suspect” for the weekend.
The first-degree murder warrant was issued Friday afternoon, charging Tshamba in the killing of Tyrone Brown, 32, an unarmed former Marine who was shot 12 times outside a Mount Vernon club, according to the charging documents. Police had previously said Brown was hit nine times.
In addition to first-degree murder, Tshamba was charged Sunday with first- and second-degree assault and using a firearm in commission of a crime of violence, according to the documents.
The officer is being held without bail as is customary for first-degree murder charges under Maryland law. However, Tshamba is entitled to a bail review hearing, which could take place Monday.
Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Sunday that he did not know what led Tshamba to turn himself in. But “we’re grateful for that, and he did the right thing.”
“The important takeaway is that the BPD is committed to policing itself,” Guglielmi said.
Andrew D. Freeman, an attorney representing the Brown family, speaking on behalf of the Marine’s relative said Sunday: “We appreciate the efforts of the police in pressuring Officer Tshamba to turn himself in. We look forward to justice being done.”
Freeman, who is asking additional witnesses to the shooting to contact him, said the family hopes Tshamba would be held without bail until his trial.
In the police statement early Sunday, Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III called Tshamba’s actions an “aberration.”
Bealefeld, who was on vacation, has yet to comment publicly about Tshamba’s disappearance beyond Sunday’s statement. Guglielmi said the commissioner was involved with efforts to find Tshamba and authorized the influx of resources to locate him.
“He doesn’t tolerate any behavior that undermines the integrity of the agency or the hard work that the men and women of BPD do each and every day,” Guglielmi said Sunday.
Detectives had passed out fliers Saturday with Tshamba’s picture that described him as a “dangerous/high risk apprehension” as about 100 people gathered on the green in front of City Hall to remember Brown. Wearing T-shirts with Brown’s photo and clutching candles, they prayed before releasing about a dozen heart-shaped balloons into the air.
“We should have locked [Tshamba] up that night,” said Reginald Dargan, Brown’s father. “I pray that they catch him. I leave it in God’s hands.”
Tshamba’s attorney, Adam Sean Cohen, could not be immediately reached Sunday morning.
He said Saturday that Tshamba had been frustrated with the public outcry over the incident and may have “sequestered himself.”
“He’s definitely troubled by the allegation but looks forward to fighting the case in court,” Cohen said. “I’m hopeful that this will resolve itself relatively soon.”
A regional task force of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies is always involved in serving murder warrants. But with the high-profile case lingering, top commanders authorized dozens of detectives from the Violent Crimes Impact Section and district detective units to get involved. His picture was distributed nationally.
“It’s gone from zero to 60,” said a police official who requested anonymity. “This is different; this is a cop.”
Tshamba’s surrender capped a week of drama that began in the early hours of June 5, when the off-duty Baltimore police officer fired 13 rounds from his Glock service pistol at Brown during an alley confrontation in the Mount Vernon neighborhood, according to police and eyewitnesses.
According to charging documents, police found no live rounds from Tshamba’s handgun and recovered 13 casings from the .40-caliber weapon at the scene. The medical examiner reported that Brown sustained 12 gunshot wounds, according to the documents.
Brown touched a female companion of Tshamba’s inappropriately, witnesses said, angering the off-duty officer, who withdrew his weapon and challenged Brown to “do it again.” Witnesses and police sources said Brown’s hands were raised in the air as Tshamba began emptying the weapon.
Within two days, police handed off their investigation to prosecutors and said they had found no credible evidence to justify Tshamba’s actions. The Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday that Tshamba had been involved in a prior off-duty shooting in which he had been driving with a blood-alcohol level of .12, over the legal limit of .08 percent.
As police stepped up efforts to publicly pressure prosecutors, Tshamba continued to check in at the Eastern District station and was said to be screening potential attorneys.
Though criminal charges were expected, Tshamba was never placed under surveillance, which some observers found troubling.
Veteran Baltimore trial attorney Andrew C. White said he found it “troubling” that Tshamba hadn’t been located more than 24 hours after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
“They should definitely be able to find somebody as publicly available as a police officer in 20 minutes,” said White, who has no involvement in the case. He said police should have placed Tshamba under surveillance by one or two fellow officers, “so they could be sure they knew where he was.”
White noted that police in Connecticut kept Yale University animal lab technician Raymond Clark III under close watch last year while they weighed evidence against him in the slaying of 24-year-old graduate student Annie Le. Clark was eventually arrested and charged with her murder.
Former Baltimore Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris, who now hosts a radio show, said, “If you’re planning to charge someone with a capital crime, you would want to keep them under surveillance.” But, he added, “In terms of policemen charged with crimes like this, very few, if any, can I remember fleeing,” Norris said.
Guglielmi said Baltimore police had to “treat this like any other homicide suspect. If you put somebody under surveillance, that could become an issue at trial.” He said “all of Tshamba’s weapons” had been seized, and police had no inkling that he would flee. He was believed to be staying with friends, and his family was cooperating with police.
He chastised the media, saying that word of the search for Tshamba might have given the officer a chance to disappear.
But Cohen said leaks from the department about the investigation had deeply troubled his client, saying he was being “served up on a silver platter.” He said Tshamba is eager to tell his side when the appropriate time comes. He refused to take a breath test to show whether he had been drinking and has not given any statement to investigating officers.
He also said Tshamba was startled by a death threat reported to police earlier in the week. Police received a call from someone claiming to be a relative of Brown, who said a young cousin was intent on revenge. Sources say that the call was ultimately deemed to be a hoax, but Cohen said that message never got back to Tshamba.
“As soon as I have a dialogue with him, I will tell him ‘You have to turn yourself in,'” Cohen said. “If I have to pick him up somewhere, I will.”
Tshamba, whose past includes lawsuits over paternity, child support and unpaid rent, had a history of late-night episodes involving alcohol and gun violence that predated last weekend’s fatal shooting. He was said to be a regular at upscale clubs in the city, but was generally low-key.
He was suspended for eight days but allowed to remain on the city police force after a 2005 incident in which he shot a man in the foot after an off-duty altercation that included driving under the influence of alcohol. In 2006, he was disciplined again after losing control of his car on Pulaski Highway just before 2 a.m.
Outside City Hall, friends and associates of Brown who gathered for the vigil, shared memories of the East Baltimore resident, whose Marine service included four years of combat duty in Iraq.
“Justice is still out there to be served,” said Brown’s sister, Chantay Kangalee, who was with him when he was shot. She organized the vigil, choosing the spot in front of City Hall because, “It’s too hard to go back to the scene of everything.”
Several Marines from Brown’s unit attended, with some driving from as far away as St. Mary’s County.
Marine James Maguire called Brown “outgoing, honest and friendly,” and called what happened “an injustice.”
“It’s so sad,” said Dargan, “that he went through all of that [serving in Iraq,] and now he had to come here to get killed by someone who is supposed to be upholding the law.”
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