A Baltimore grand jury has added vehicular manslaughter to the charges against a man who allegedly fled police and crashed a stolen car into a building on North Avenue, killing 54-year-old Alfred Fincher.
Shawn Lee Brunson now faces charges of gross negligent vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent vehicular manslaughter, theft of property valued between $1,500 and $25,000 and driving without a license. The most serious charge brings a maximum possible sentence of 10 years.
Brunson, 33, was fleeing police at the time of the crash, which occurred Feb. 8. A CCTV camera captured the horrific incident, showing the vehicle running a red light and smashing into a vehicle traveling eastbound. The stolen car smashed into Fincher and then a vacant building just behind him. The building then toppled onto both cars. Brunson was arrested at the scene and initially held on car theft charges.
Divya Potdar, an attorney representing Fincherβs family, said the grand jury and Baltimore Stateβs Attorneyβs Office βhave done the right thing by indicting Mr. Brunson with these charges.β
βHis actions led to the death of Alfred Fincher, an innocent pedestrian,β Potdar said.
Brunsonβs public defender Brian Levy declined to comment.
The Attorney Generalβs Officeβs Independent Investigations Division is conducting a review into the police pursuit. Body camera footage and the CCTV footage shows Officer Devin Yancy was in pursuit of the vehicle prior to the crash. A supervisor can be heard over the police radio saying to βbreak it offβ and Yancyβs engine stops revving; the crash occurs a few seconds later.
The body camera footage leading up to the crash lasts about two minutes, although the angle of the video makes it difficult to tell how long Yancy was actively involved.
βWe patiently await the Stateβs Attorneyβs and the Attorney Generalβs investigation of the Police Departmentβs role in the death of Mr. Fincher,β Potdar said.




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