Matthew Santoni, The Examiner
2008-04-25 07:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

A Crips gang member who ordered the killing of a police officer from the Harford County Detention Center got caught as a result of an investigation by a new anti-gang unit based inside the jail, police said.

Tyrone Moore, 17, was indicted by a Harford County grand jury earlier this month, charged with telling two associates that if he did not make bail on a recent arrest, he wanted the police officer responsible for his arrest killed, said Christopher Tabone, an assistant state’s attorney.

Moore had been arrested in January on charges of selling drugs to an undercover officer.

The anti-gang unit in the jail is tasked with tracking gang members and collecting information on them, Tabone said.

Lt. Lee Dunbar, head of the Special Investigations Division and Narcotics Task Force, said the intelligence unit proved crucial to thwarting an attempt on the officer’s life.

“This is something that the men and women of those units have taken great pride in,” Dunbar said. “Their efforts were paid off in possibly saving an officer’s life.”

“If you simply say to someone, ‘Will you kill this person for me?’ ” he said, “that’s solicitation to commit murder.”

The officer who had been targeted was notified, and police are investigating those Moore allegedly contacted about a hit, Tabone said.

One of the people Moore tried to reach about the alleged attempt, girlfriend Shelby Barnes, is still being sought by police, he added.

Moore was indicted on two charges each of soliciting murder, as well as a charge of gang association.

He is already facing other charges, including drug distribution and gun possession. Those charges stemmed from an investigation into the “Asbury Boys” — a group believed to have been dealing crack cocaine out of a relative’s house on Asbury Road in Churchville, Tabone said.

“He could be facing forever in jail with all the charges he has,” Tabone said.

His trial date for the drug charges has been set for the beginning of May, but will likely be postponed as defense attorneys try to get the case moved to juvenile court.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com