By Brett Zongker, The Associated Press
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The second suspect in the killing of a Baltimore police officer killed himself early Wednesday, four days after the officer was shot at a liquor store, the city police commissioner said.
An officer received a tip from a street informant Tuesday night that led police to Charles Bennett, 33, who was wanted in the death of Officer Brian Winder.
Bennett was holed up in the Relax Inn, a motel on Reisterstown Road, when he shot himself in the head as officers closed in just before 4 a.m., city Police Commissioner Kevin Clark said. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“It’s over,” Clark said in a televised news conference.
A city warrant task force and U.S. marshals went to the motel Tuesday, where they saw a man they believed might be Bennett peeking from a window, Clark said. A special police unit was called in later to begin a search of the guest rooms, using one of the motel’s master keys.
When officers opened the scuffed, green door to Room 205, they heard a gunshot, Clark said. The officers did not fire any shots.
“There was no forced entry here; they had a master key to the room,” Clark said. “As they started to enter the room, a shot was heard.”
The officers found Bennett with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, he said. The officers tried to resuscitate Bennett at the scene before he was taken to a hospital.
“We made sure that we had him removed to a hospital so that further medical attention could be given to him,” Clark said.
Winder, 36, was shot Saturday night, shortly after responding to a 911 call. Police said the officer was ambushed inside the liquor store after he approached two men seeking identification.
The other suspect, Jermaine Gaines, 31, was arrested Saturday at the shooting scene. He was charged with first-degree murder and a judge Tuesday denied him bail. Defense attorney Christopher Smith said his client does not have a record of violence and was cooperating with the police.
According to charging documents, Gaines acknowledged he had a weapon inside the liquor store. But he said Bennett shot Winder.
There was a $35,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Bennett, who had been arrested 13 times since 1987 for handgun and narcotics crimes.
A motel clerk, speaking from behind a thick pane of plexiglass, said the hotel staff gave the officers the master key. The clerk, who refused to give his name, said he did not know Bennett was staying there. He said police have come to the Relax Inn before, so he was not surprised to see them.
Police moved through the motel quickly and quietly. Guests staying in rooms near Bennett’s said they were asleep until officers came to their doors to ask if they’d heard or seen anything. William Foster, a guest in Room 204, said he didn’t know anyone was in the room next door and he was surprised to hear later that a gun had been fired.
Debra McRavin of Randallstown and her father, Jimmie, were at the motel to help a relative staying there. McRavin said police surrounded the building and she heard a single gunshot.
Clark said he planned to go see Winder’s family on Wednesday to talk to them about Bennett.
“Our prayers are with them and our support will be with them forever,” he said.
Michael Faison, 36, one of Winder’s friends, stood alone across the street from the motel, staring intently at the building. He drove to the scene after another friend called, waking him up with the news that Bennett was dead. His initial reaction was “one of bliss.”
“But I felt we were cheated,” Faison said. “He went out like a coward.”
Faison pulled out his wallet, where he had a tiny picture of Bennett next to a picture of the fallen officer.
“I will finally burn this picture,” he said. “I just wanted him in court or dead - plain and simple.”
A viewing for the officer was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at a funeral home. A funeral will be held Friday at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.
The last Baltimore police officer killed in the line of duty was Detective Thomas Newman, in November 2002.