Security cameras placed by Maryland Security Professionals played a key role in solving the murder of a 28-year-old father-to-be in Accokeek earlier this month. The arrest in the case comes despite no reported witnesses to the violent crime.
Fatal shooting in Accokeek
Early in the morning of Monday, February 13, someone alerted an off-duty Prince George’s County Police Officer of a man slumped over the steering wheel of a Dodge Charger in the Preserve, a residential development in Accokeek, a sleepy suburb of Washington, D.C. not known for violent crimes. The officer discovered Timothy Sherod unresponsive from apparent gunshot wounds. Sherod was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Charger in which Sherod was found was discovered parked outside a row of single-family homes. The residential development featured security cameras installed by Maryland Security Professionals, placed at the entrance and covering a wide expanse of the neighborhood.
After police discovered the shooting victim, detectives spent the day combing camera footage for clues. Several days later, on February 16, the Prince George Police Department announced that its detectives had arrested two suspects.
Suspects arrested with help of private security cameras
Police arrested a 24-year-old male, Donvain Hodges, of Fort Washington. They also arrested a 19-year-old female, Cessna Blow. The suspects were charged with first and second-degree murder and other charges related to the shooting and are being held without bond.
Police noted that the Charger Sherod had been driving had a Lyft sticker on the windshield. Sherod had been a full-time foreman for Amtrak and a part-time driver for Lyft but was apparently not driving for Lyft at the time he was shot. Police do, however, believe the shooting took place based on a dispute over money.
According to police and the statements released by his heartbroken family, Sherod was a responsible, hard-working man with no criminal history. The dog lover and aspiring chef was also expecting a baby girl the same day he was killed.
Private security cameras help solve crimes
Residential security cameras continue to gain public attention for the value they provide in solving crimes. According to recent news reports, police departments in cities across the country are collecting information for voluntary registries of residential and business surveillance cameras. When a crime is committed in an area that may have been within site of a private camera, the police can then contact the owner to request the opportunity to review the footage for evidence.
Baltimore has had such a registry since 2011 and in its first year alone, it was credited with contributing to more than 1200 arrests. In 2012, the Baltimore Police Department received a grant to implement a system that would, at the private camera owner’s discretion, allow the police to view the security footage directly, as needed.
For more information about protecting your home with security camera surveillance, call Maryland Security Professionals. We look forward to helping keep your neighborhood safe.