CAMBRIDGE, Md. — Maryland State Police and members of a fugitive task force arrested a man involved in the murder of a Baltimore County man who was found dead in Dorchester County.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old James Andre Reddick, Jr., is from Baltimore.
Maryland State Police have charged Reddick with first degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to commit second degree murder, first degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, robbery, reckless endangerment, and six charges related to the illegal possession and transportation of a handgun.
The victim is identified as Deontae Vilada Belcher, 25, of Rosedale. Belcher was found dead in a wooded area in Dorchester County on May 1. An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause and manner of death as homicide by gunshot wounds.
Shortly before noon on May 1, deputies from the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office responded to 911 calls reporting the body of the deceased victim, lying along a power line trail alongside Horns Point Road in Cambridge.
The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit was requested to respond and take the lead in the investigation.
When they arrived on scene, investigators found the decomposed body of the victim, later identified as Belcher, the subject of a missing person’s report. Evidence found at the scene indicated Belcher had sustained at least one gunshot wound.
Police learned Belcher was last seen on April 11 getting into a four door sedan with two other people. His mother had reported him missing to the Baltimore County Police Department on April 18.
Reddick is currently awaiting an initial appearance before a court commissioner in Baltimore County.
He will ultimately be transported to Dorchester County where the charges originated.
They found the suspect Saturday morning in a back yard in Baltimore.
Investigators were assisted by Baltimore Police Department officers from the Northwest District.
Reddick was arrested without incident and taken to the State Police Golden Ring Barrack for processing.
Additional departments assisting in this investigation include Baltimore County Police, Dorchester Co. Sheriff's Office, Dorchester County State's Attorney's Office, Eastern Shore Information Center and Maryland State Police from the Criminal Enforcement Division, Golden Ring Barrack and Forensic Sciences Division.
