Families of two women and two young children murdered in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in 2010 are fighting to keep a convicted accomplice in prison.
State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy supports a new hearing for T’Keisha Gilmer, saying Gilmer was a victim herself.
The victims – Dawn Brooks, her little boy and girl and their aunt – were found in a trash-filled garage after a shooting sparked by a missing cooler of drugs.
Sade Newson lost her mother, brother and sister in the murders. Recently, she learned Braveboy supports a hearing for Gilmer that could result in her release despite her life sentence.
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“Devastated by bombshell, if you will,” she said. “I was shocked and appalled.”
Braveboy says Gilmer, who was 18 years old at the time, was abused and trafficked by her boyfriend, Darrell Bellard, who is 25 years older than the teen. Investigators say Bellard shot the victims while Gilmer held the door so they couldn’t escape.
“She’s lived a very tragic life,” Braveboy said. “She had a child very, very young and then she was taken advantage of by this much older man.”
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Braveboy says details about Gilmer’s life and how she was treated by Bellard were not provided to the judge. Gilmer cooperated and testified against her boyfriend.
“I support a judge looking at all the factors and making a decision that’s fair and appropriate for this particular defendant,” Braveboy said.
But it doesn’t feel fair to the victims’ families.
“I think they should serve their full sentence,” Newson said.
The case will be in court again in June.
The American University College of Law Decarceration and Re-Entry Clinic represents Gilmer. It allows law students to help youthful offenders who are seeking to be released from confinement and restart their lives.
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