BALTIMORE — "I'll be honest, they pretty much ruined my life," the 19 year-old victim told WMAR-2 News' Elizabeth Worthington.
Her mother tells me, "And their lives are unchanged. They're just happily going about their day."
Tameka Lewis got a frantic call from her daughter late one night last week.
She said a group of about 15-20 teenagers, who she didn't know, had just assaulted and robbed her on Lombard Street near the Inner Harbor.
We are not identifying the victim, but she recalled what happened to WMAR-2 News:
"They started calling us. We were across the street. So we walked over there, not thinking of anything. One of the girls started walking up as if she was about to swing on me. So I asked her, ‘what’s wrong?’ They started jumping towards me. One of the girls held them back and said, hold on, let her explain herself. One of the girls said, we just fought one of your friends, and she lost[...]She told us that you were running your mouth and that you wanted to fight too. I kept trying to explain to her, that I didn’t even know her. She wasn’t listening. She kept getting in my face, asking me if I wanted to fight her," the victim told WMAR-2 News.
"Soon as she got me on the ground, I was ready to get back up. And she kicked me in my head and they started jumping me. After it was over, a lady came from across the street and pulled me into the alley for my safety."
The bystander called 911. The victim called her mom, who called her husband. He's a Baltimore City Police Officer, and was working in the Northern District at the time. But he got to the scene before the responding officer from the Central District arrived, alone. And when he called for back-up to search for the suspects, none came. According to the police report, district detectives weren't available to respond.
As a former MTA police officer, and the wife of a Baltimore Police officer, Lewis knew there was a shortage of cops in the city.
"I didn't know it was this bad, until my daughter needed police, and they weren't available," she said.
Canvassing the area with the responding officer, the victim was able to identify one of the suspects who was arrested for conspiracy of unarmed robbery.
She was referred to the Department of Juvenile Services.
According to DJS policy, a juvenile is either detained right away, or sent home while they wait for an intake conference where DJS will decide whether to pursue formal charges or not.
Lewis has been given conflicting information. DJS is not able to comment on specific cases publicly.
"We are getting no assistance whatsoever from anybody. It's just like, 'ok it happened, move on.'"
But for her daughter - it's not that simple. The suspects stole her phone and her wallet, so she's afraid they know her address. She hasn't returned to work because where the assault happened is where she'd normally catch the bus.
"After it happened, I pretty much thought I could move past it. But I literally almost died that night if that lady didn't come across the street and save me," Lewis' daughter said through tears. "I'm scared to go outside by myself."
Lewis started a petition that she wants to send to the Mayor's Office and the State's Attorney's office, calling on them to do more to hold juvenile offenders accountable. She has more than 250 signatures so far, but is continuing to collect them. We reached out to both offices about her concerns but haven't heard back yet.
