Police arrested Joseph Black on Wednesday hours after he allegedly accelerated his vehicle while engaged with a Baltimore police sergeant during a traffic stop Tuesday night, dragging the officer and leaving him on life support.
Black, 36, was wanted in a recent homicide. Court records show he had been released from jail late last year after pleading guilty in two separate cases. Both times, he was arrested on attempted murder and other serious counts, then took a plea deal and was convicted of illegal gun possession — a much lesser charge that allowed him to be released on time served and placed on probation.
The officer, whose name has not been released, remains on life support at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
The Northwest District sergeant was making a traffic stop minutes after 8 p.m. in the 5100 block of Park Heights Avenue in the Central Park Heights community when he “became engaged with the vehicle” and was dragged for about two blocks, Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said.
The driver fled the scene.
A memo sent out to local law enforcement identified Black as the driver and said he was “considered armed and dangerous.” It said Black also was the suspect in a recent murder: the killing of Darrell Fulton, who was shot June 14 in the 3100 block of Spaulding Avenue in Park Heights near Pimlico. Fulton died three days later from his injuries, according to police.
In that case, an off-duty Baltimore police officer found the victim slumped over in the street a short distance from the crime scene around 1:45 a.m. June 14. Officials said the officer, who was not identified, stopped to render aid until medics arrived and transported Fulton to the hospital.
No details were immediately available about Black’s arrest, but Baltimore Police have scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. at police headquarters downtown.
Publicly available court records show Black, who lives in Baltimore, had a fraught history with Baltimore police even before the Tuesday traffic stop.
His two most recent cases, which started with attempted murder charges, were resolved last year when Black pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. In each case, he received reduced sentences — 15 years in prison with all but time served suspended — and was released. He was placed on supervised probation, a two-year term that was still ongoing at the time of his arrest Wednesday.
The first case stemmed from an October 2019 shootout in the 1500 block of North Broadway in Northeast Baltimore, according to charging documents. Black and another man were accused of shooting at each other during a dispute. The second suspect was injured.
Black was arrested on attempted first-degree murder and other counts, but he was indicted only on five gun charges, court records show. He later pleaded guilty to felon in possession.
In the second case, Baltimore police responded to a Shot Spotter alert and encountered a white minivan apparently fleeing the area and driving erratically, according to charging documents. The driver refused to pull over. The chase ended when he crashed, fled on foot and was taken into custody. Police recovered two guns, ammunition, a scale and almost $3,500 in cash from Black and his vehicle, according to the documents.
Black was indicted on 33 counts, including attempted second-degree murder and reckless endangerment. Again, he later pleaded guilty to felon in possession.
In 2006, he also pleaded guilty to armed robbery. The judge in that case sentenced him to five years behind bars with four years suspended and three years of supervised probation. In 2011 and 2012, he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault charges in two separate cases. And in 2015, he pleaded guilty to a gun charge.
Police have not identified the sergeant injured Tuesday night. He was rushed to Shock Trauma around 8:30 p.m., and Dr. Thomas M. Scalea described his condition as “critically ill” in a news conference later that evening.
The sergeant was on that block last night because it is an area that has struggled with violence, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said.
“This is a neighborhood in a particular block that has had issues with violence for as long as I’ve been breathing,” Scott said Tuesday.
Prayers and well wishes for the injured officer came pouring in on social media Wednesday.
“Another senseless act of violence against law enforcement has left a Baltimore Police sergeant fighting for his life. The perpetrator must be swiftly brought to justice,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a tweet. “We are all praying for the officer to make a full recovery.”
The ATF Baltimore Field Division offered “unwavering support” and Baltimore FBI officials praised his courage.
“The FBI Baltimore family wishes the courageous Baltimore Police sergeant who was critically injured in the line of duty a full recovery,” officials wrote on Twitter. “Our thoughts are with him, his family, and his colleagues in the department.”
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