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 FREDERICK LYDELL JENKINS SR. MAY 13, 1974 - JULY 8, 2002 My "son-shine" was deemed on July 8, 2002. While on a 3 day leave from the military, my son was murdered in Baltimore City. Also murdered was his life long friend Thomas Barnes. The reason for the murders was "mistaken identity". While trying to live with this bleeding heart of mine, I have learned to not take things for granted. The people in your life, that you love so very much need to know this. You have to take the time to tell them what and how much they mean to you. You have to communicate, appreciate, and validate your love for them. There has been many people who have shown their sympathy, both strangers and friends. I have been blessed to have a very supportive family. I have also been blessed to have a very special friend. Without him, I really wouldn`t be here today. Mr "C", you know who you are. Pictured above, is my son and grand-son. I have the task of trying to raise this man-child with the belief that people are generaly good. That the murder of his father was not the ordinary. This will be very difficult to do when so many people continue to hurt one another! We have to change the way we treat each other. If not for ourselves, then for the children. My special BLACK MEN. I implore you to help me. I am indeed a BLACK WOMAN. I can raise a child into an adult. I can raise a girl into a woman. There are many things that I am capable of doing. But, I cannot raise a boy into a man. My grand-son, along with many young black males, need to have STRONG BLACK MEN to look up to, to mimic. I know that if we, as a people, stick and stand together, we can change the future of our children. This we must do, before another mother has to bury her child, or see them sentenced to death, or life in prison. To many "babies"are dying, to manymothers are crying. My daily affirmation; "everythingthat has happened to me, before my son`s death, was a test of patience. Everything that is happening to me, since his death, is a test of my faith."
The following article appeared in our local paper; Homicide defendants` fates lie in jury`s hands Two men are accused of shooting 3 others -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Allison Klein Sun Staff Originally published February 7, 2003 Three men who were killed execution-style last summer in Southeast Baltimore were "hard-working, solid citizens" and not intended murder targets, a prosecutor argued yesterday in Baltimore Circuit Court. The two defendants on trial for first-degree murder yesterday -- William Faulkner and Richard James -- were trying to settle a score with one of the victim`s brothers, said Assistant State`s Attorney Lisa Goldberg in her closing argument. Defense lawyers, who did not call any witnesses in the four-day case, argued that Faulkner and James were not involved in the killings. A jury began deliberations last night to decide whether the defendants, both 23, shot Thomas Barnes Jr., Frederick Jenkins and ElJermaine Street in the back of their heads July 7. The victims were all 28, lifelong friends, and had graduated from Dundalk High School in 1992. According to Goldberg, the intended target was Derek Jenkins, 24, brother of Frederick Jenkins. The elder Jenkins brother had been recentlymarried and had just returned from a tour of duty in Kuwait, where he was a computer specialist in Operation Enduring Freedom. The younger Jenkins -- who had a two-year dispute with the defendants -- was with the victims when they were shot, but he escaped unharmed. Bad feelings had been sparked the day of the shooting between Derek Jenkins and the defendants at a bar, Goldberg said. Faulkner and one of Derek Jenkins`friends exchanged dirty looks, she said. Hours later, the victims and Derek Jenkins were sitting on the steps of the apartment complex in the 1300 block of Bonsal St., near O`Donnell Heights. Two men approached, wearing hooded sweatshirts pulled over their heads. Without saying a word, one of the men pulled out a revolver and fired three shots at the victims from 24 feet away, Goldberg said. Derek Jenkins testified earlier this week that Faulkner and James were the assailants. "Derek Jenkins saw what happened, and he saw who did it," Goldberg told the jury. Defense lawyer Murray M. Blum, who is defending James, said his client is "as innocent as the day he was born." Public defender Thomas Kane, who is defending Faulkner, told the jury the premise of the state`s case is flawed, and the "bad blood" between the men was no motivation for murder. He also told them not to be swayed by the tragedy of the loss of three hard-working young men. Frederick Jenkins, who was married last year, had been scheduled to fly to Germany to see his wife. Street, the father of a 3-year-old daughter, was a forklift operator in Dundalk and was engaged to be married last year. Barnes, a Social Security Administration clerk, briefly served in the National Guard and had recently returned home after his parents became ill. Copyright 2003, The Baltimore Sun PRESS RELEASE JURY FINDS RICHARD JAMES & WILLIAM FAULKNER GUILTY OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER Baltimore, MD -- February 10, 2003 -- A Baltimore City jury today convicted Richard James, 23 and William Faulkner, 23, both of New Pittsburgh Avenue, of three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder and four counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for the July7, 2002 killings of Frederick Jenkins, ElJermaine Street and ThomasBarnes. A fourth victim, Derrick Jenkins, brother of Frederick Jenkins, survived the shooting. On July 7, 2002 James and Faulkner went to the 1300 block of Bonsal Street to confront Derrick Jenkins following a long-simmering dispute. Frederick Jenkins, Street and Barnes were all shot and killed at point blank range. The four victims were long-time friends and lived in the O Donnell Heights area; Frederick Jenkins served in the United States Armed Forces and was home on leave. The jury deliberated one-day following five-days of testimony. Sentencing is scheduled for March 13, 2003 before the Honorable John N. Prevas. The maximum sentence is life without parole. Assistant State s Attorneys Lisa H. Goldberg and John Cox prosecuted this case. Two get three life terms, no parole in execution-style killing of friends Trio was shot last year in Southeast Baltimore -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Allison Klein Sun Staff Originally published March 14, 2003 Comparing the two defendants before him to "Nazi prison guards," Baltimore Circuit Judge John N. Prevas sentenced William Faulkner and Richard James yesterday to three consecutive life sentences without parole for the execution-style murder of three lifelong best friends last year. "When I look into the vacant eyes of William Faulkner and Richard James, I see the vacant eyes of Nazi prison guards who went home at night and kissed their children," Prevas said. Faulkner and James, both 23, were found guilty last month of 30 criminal charges in connection with the July murders of Thomas Barnes Jr., Frederick Jenkins and ElJermaine Street. In addition to the three life sentences, the defendants were also handed another 20 years to be served at the same time. The charges ranged from first-degree murder to handgun violations. The victims,all 28, had jobs and loving families. Jenkins was a military computer specialist in Kuwait, Barnes was a Social Security Administration clerk and Street, a forklift operator, was engaged to be married. The three were sitting on the steps of a Southeast Baltimore home when they were each shot once in the head. Prosecutor Lisa H. Goldberg said they were "in the wrong place at the wrong time." The intended victim was Derek Jenkins, 24, a younger brother of Frederick Jenkins, according to testimony during the trial last month. The younger Jenkins was with the victims when they were shot, but he fled and escaped unharmed. Before Prevas handed down the sentences yesterday, family members of the two defendants pleaded for a light sentence, saying they are not murderers. "That`s my only boy, and he`s always been a good guy," William Faulkner Sr. said about his son. "I hate to see him go away for something he didn`t do." Then, members of the three victims` families asked Prevas to hand the defendants life in prison. Felicia Waterhouse told the packed courtroom that her son, Frederick Jenkins, was killed when he was home for three days from a tour of duty in Kuwait, where he was a computer specialist in Operation Enduring Freedom. The reason he came home, she said, was to celebrate the one-year anniversary of her surviving surgery for ovarian cancer. "My hurt runs very deep," Waterhouse said. "It is the first thing that I think about when I awaken, and the last thing that I think about before I sleep." |
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