Cory Harrison, a 27-year-old African-American man, was shot repeatedly and killed in the 2000 block of Robb Street on Sept. 23, 2006. Derrick Wallace, an African-American man who was 19 at the time, was charged with Harrison's murder in December of that year. He was found not guilty on all charges on Nov. 28, 2007.
On Sept. 28, 2006, Sultan Matthews, a 19-year-old African-American male, was in his home in the 1200 block of North Dukeland Street. Two men came in and Matthews got into an argument with them. One of the men shot Matthews in the head, killing him. Kevin Parker, a then-24-year-old African-American man, was charged with Matthews' murder on Dec. 6, 2006. Parker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on March 18, 2008 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Alton Brown, an African-American man who was 30 when Matthews was shot, was also charged with the homicide. Brown pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the statute on March 19, 2008 and was sentenced to two years in prison. All the other charges against Brown were dropped.
Brown was also charged with the June 17, 2006 murder of John Blackburn, a 28-year-old African-American man. Blackburn was shot repeatedly in the 2800 block of Ellicott Drive. All the charges against Brown in that case were dropped on March 31, 2008. According to the police, the case is still considered closed.
On Oct. 9, 2006 Donnie Blanding, a 22-year-old African-American man, was found fatally shot in the driver's seat of a car that hit a stop sign at the intersection of Lewiston and Gist avenues. In April 2007, Ernest Hudson, a then-21-year-old African-American man, was indicted for the Blanding's murder. On May 5, 2008, Hudson pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing Blanding and was sentenced to 1 year, 1 month, and 12 days in prison.
Hudson was also charged with the Dec. 13, 2006 murder of Ronald Stewart, a 29-year-old African-American man. Stewart was shot in the head and body in the 4000 block of West Belvedere Avenue. Hudson's co-defendant in the Stewart case, Ajamilla Longmore, an African-American man who was 19 when Stewart was killed, was convicted of Stewart's murder on Feb. 6, 2008. Longmore was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years. Hudson was found not guilty on all charges.
