Defendant Convicted in 1993 for Murder Says He Will Work to Avoid Returning to Jail as He Moves to New York

Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness. Help us continue our mission into 2024.

“I don’t want to break my mother’s heart,” eagerly said a murder suspect on Feb. 15 as he started his post-incarceration program after serving 30 years in prison.

Defendant Omar Johnson appeared before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Yvette M. Bryant on Wednesday to talk about programs that will assist him in his reintegration into society.

Defense attorney Erica Suter called a social worker to testify, who informed the court that Johnson, 47, had been diagnosed with post-incarceration syndrome after serving a significant time in prison.

The social worker who assists the social service organization named Rectify, testified how the program would help the defendant.

Suter reported that her other witness failed to testify about Arundel House of Hope and the defendant’s treatment program there.

Judge Bryant questioned how these programs would help Johnson since he planned to live in New York. The social worker replied that Rectify would connect Johnson with an organization so that he may obtain housing insurance, food stamps, and treatment.

Judge Bryant ultimately continued the hearing, asking Suter to subpoena the representative for Arundel House of Hope to appear on March 16. She intends to release Johnson on March 17.

Judge Bryant expressed that she understood Johnson’s excitement and disappointment in the elongated process.

Johnson said that he was willing to work with the system and promised the judge that she wouldn’t see him back in prison after his release.

In June of 1993, Johnson and his co-defendant, Anthony Brown, were both found guilty of first-degree murder and the use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. They both received a life sentence for murder and a concurrent sentence of twenty years for the handgun offense.

According to an undocumented report from the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, on the day of the incident, the victim, James McCray, tried to return drugs he didn’t pay for and was accused of having switched out the drugs. Johnson was convicted of shooting the victim.