Baltimore prosecutors kept an innocent 17-year-old Black high school student on house arrest for seven months with an ankle monitor after falsely accusing him of involvement in a violent crime
But Deryl Bright Jr., who scored the third-highest SAT score in his school last year, was at school that day – more than a half mile away from the actual crime.
Nevertheless, nobody in the legal system addressed the blunder until Baltimore Sun investigative reporter Kate Cimini asked prosecutors why the charges against him remained active.
The Baltimore State Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges the following day. Authorities removed the ankle monitor days later.
“I feel isolated,” Bright told Cimini days before the charges were dropped. “I feel unfairly punished for a crime I didn’t commit.”
While on house arrest, Bright could only go to school, work, and doctor’s appointments, but he told the reporter the violent nature of the alleged crime prevented him from continuing his job as a pharmacy technician.
A judge also refused to allow him to attend his high school prom, a family reunion, or a Florida vacation his mother had planned as a graduation trip.
“It’s a repetitive cycle, over and over again, every day,” he said. “It just makes me feel lonely.”
Both the state attorney’s office and the public defender’s office blamed each other for the blunder. And Baltimore police blamed unnamed school officials who identified Bright from video surveillance.
However, two school officials confirmed to the Sun that Bright was in school during the time of the crime, indicating police did not bother to conduct a thorough investigation before arresting Bright.
The ordeal began on Jan. 23 after three Black teens inside a McDonald’s followed a man to his car to rob him shortly after 9 a.m.
Two teens covered their faces with hoodies, while the third left his face exposed. Investigators identified the third teen as Bright, even though they estimated him to be 6 inches shorter and heavier than Bright.
The teens assaulted the man, with one stealing his phone and wallet and running away, prompting the man to chase him. The other two attempted to steal the car, but the victim jumped on the hood, and the teens ran away.
Meanwhile, Bright was on his way to his first-period agriculture class at Green Street Academy, a public charter school that required students to wear uniforms. None of the three suspects were wearing a school uniform.
Police obtained witness statements and surveillance footage and began their investigation, eventually speaking to a school official who told them the unmasked teen was Bright.
Police arrested Bright at school about a month later, transporting him to the station where they collected blood and urine samples. Authorities eventually placed him on house arrest with an ankle monitor.
Meanwhile, there is no indication from the Sun article as to whether police arrested any of the real suspects.
“I feel like I’m a victim of prejudice,” he told Cimini. “They assume I was somebody I’m not.”
“It was just pure laziness on the account of the detectives that they didn’t put more time in investigating the whole case.”
Bright can have his case expunged, which would remove it from the public record, but only if he agrees not to sue. His family is therefore still weighing its options.
