HAGERSTOWN MAN FOUND GUILTY OF RAPE

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 24, 2021

 

FREDERICK, MD – Late Thursday afternoon in Frederick County Circuit Court, a jury found Clifford Edward Barnett, age 54, of Hagerstown, MD guilty of 2nd Degree Rape, 3rd degree sex offense, and 4th degree sex offense. The State requested that Barnett’s $25,000 unsecured bond be revoked after this conviction. Judge William R. Nicklas Jr. ruled that the defendant could remain on bond until sentencing. A sentencing date will be scheduled by the court’s assignment office.

 

At approximately 7:53 am September 30, 2019, officers with the Frederick Police Department were dispatched to a home in the 600 block of Taney Avenue in Frederick for the report of a rape. The female victim was transported by Frederick County DFRS EMTs to Frederick Health Hospital for a forensic medical examination. Detectives learned through investigation that the victim and the defendant had visited several downtown Frederick bars together, along with another male friend of the victim, the night of September 29th. The three consumed several alcoholic beverages over the course of the evening. The defendant then drove the victim and the other male friend to her house. The three continued to socialize until approximately 3am, when the victim made beds for the two men to sleep in and then went to bed in her bedroom on another floor of the residence. In the early morning hours of September 30th, the victim was awakened to find the defendant in her bed sexually assaulting her.  She immediately jumped up and began screaming and the defendant ran out of the residence.

 

The State was represented by Chief Assistant State’s Attorney Tammy Leache.

 

Clifford Edward Barnett

EVIDENCE REVIEW UNIT MARKS 1 YEAR MILESTONE: State body camera mandate will necessitate expansion in coming years

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FREDERICK, MD- The Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office is marking the one-year anniversary since the inception of the Evidence Review Unit (ERU).  The ERU, which is comprised of four investigators and a supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney, is responsible for identifying, requesting, and reviewing all digital audio/video evidence generated by police during the course of a criminal investigation. Police body-worn cameras (BWCs), vehicle dash cameras, cellular phone videos and data, recorded witness interviews, and other audio-visual recordings are all examples of digital evidence the ERU reviews and processes.

 

The ERU was formed in tandem with the Frederick City Police Department’s (FPD) 2020 expansion of their BWC program.  Today, FPD has approximately 98 BWCs deployed and is expecting that number to grow very soon to closer to 150. Additionally, the Maryland State Police in Frederick currently operate approximately 18 vehicles equipped with dash cameras.  Combined, these devices produce on average 225 hours of raw footage per month that must be obtained and reviewed by our office.  The review process for any given case takes on average about two times the total length of the raw footage to be completed.  This means that each ERU investigator has the capacity to process and review about 4 hours of raw footage per day.

 

Earlier this year, the Maryland General Assembly passed a series of bills focused on the criminal justice system including the requirement that virtually all Maryland law enforcement be equipped with BWCs by certain dates.

 

Pursuant to this newly enacted legislation, the Maryland State Police is required to equip, at a minimum, all of its patrol troopers with cameras by July 1, 2023. For the Frederick Barrack, that will amount to approximately 35 cameras added in the next two years.

 

Local departments, including the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Thurmont Police Department, and Brunswick Police Department, have until July 1, 2025 to fully implement their BWC programs.  Based on a review of current roster assignments, it is anticipated that the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office will equip between 150-175 deputies while Thurmont Police will equip approximately 10 and Brunswick Police will equip approximately 15.  Pilot programs are expected to be implemented by these departments well in advance of the deadline date.

The future demands of body-worn camera review, rapid increases in deployment, and additional needs for digital evidence review will necessitate additional staffing within the ERU. By 2023, we project that at least one additional investigator will be needed as a result of the July 1, 2023 deadline for MSP to fully implement their BWC program. By 2025, we expect the unit will need to grow even further as approximately 400 police officers within the County are expected to be equipped by this time.