Caught on camera, one of two young men stealing a scooter in Northwest Baltimore, and in addition to his property, the 64-year-old victim would lose his life while trying to get it back from them in the 3800 block of Forest Park Avenue on Monday.
“We have a lot of seniors in this area that have scooters. Our seniors are the staple and the foundation of our community and we need to very much look out for them and very much take care of them,” said Jessica Morgan, who watched police cordon off the area following the murder, “So I’m just disheartened, and I don’t live very far from here so I was very sad to see such a situation.”
Police say Vaseles Nettles had secured his scooter under a surveillance camera outside where he worked, and when he discovered it had been stolen, he pulled up images of the theft.
“In some kind of way, our victim in this case found out that the suspects were actually from the neighborhood,” said Baltimore Police Det. Donny Moses, “He took it upon himself to go out looking for the scooter and ultimately he did, and when he did is when he was ultimately killed when he was trying to recover it.”
Police say the tragic lesson underscored by this case is that the victims of such crimes should not take matters into their own hands.
“It’s just not worth it, and again, we’re not trying to re-victimize the victim and his family. We completely understand. However, as police, we would suggest that victims of such crimes not try to apprehend the suspects,” said Moses, “Unfortunately, this started as a property crime and ended as a homicide.”
If you have any information, which could help lead police to the suspects, you’re asked to call homicide detectives at 410-396-2100.
