Pratik Handore
‘We Own This City‘ is a dramatized retelling of the corruption scandal within the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force. The series is based on Justin Fenton’s 2021 nonfiction book of the same name and features several actual incidents that shaped the shocking corruption story. In the fourth episode, viewers learn of an incident wherein Wayne Jenkins catches a Baltimore resident Umar Burley during a surveillance run.
Burley is arrested for possession of drugs. However, further investigation by FBI Agents reveals that Jenkins might have planted the drugs to implicate Burley. Therefore, viewers must be curious to learn more about Umar Burley and discover what happened to him after his arrest. In that case, we’ve got you covered! Here is everything you need to know about Umar Burley and his current whereabouts!
Who Is Umar Burley?
Umar Burley was a resident of Baltimore who was apprehended by the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force in 2010. In April 2010, GTTF’s Wayne Jenkins learned that Burley had allegedly been involved in a drug transaction and was driving away. Jenkins and his team pursued Burley’s vehicle with Burley and Brent Matthews inside. The chase concluded after Burley’s car collided with another car driven by Elbert Davis and his wife in the passenger’s seat.
The collision killed 86-year-old Davis, and Burley and Matthews were arrested. Following the arrests, Jenkins and Detective Sean Suiter checked Burley’s car for drugs and found 32 grams of heroin in the vehicle. Following his arrest, Burley was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and vehicular manslaughter.
On June 10, 2011, Burley pled guilty in court to the drug possession charges and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Burley pled guilty to vehicular manslaughter on August 10, 2011, and was sentenced to ten years to be served concurrently with the other sentence. However, after the GTTF officers were arrested following a Federal Investigation, new evidence in the 2010 incident indicting Burley came to light.
Where Is Umar Burley Now?
After his arrest and conviction, Umar Burley spent nearly seven years in prison. However, after Jenkins and other officers of the GTTF were arrested in a federal racketeering case, new evidence helped prove Burley’s innocence in the original 2010 drug possession incident. During his trial, Jenkins pleaded guilty to civil rights violations for participating in the cover-up. However, Jenkins maintained that he did not plant the drugs.
In 2017, Burley was paroled and subsequently released from prison on December 19, 2017, after the drug possession charges against him were dropped following the new evidence in the case. A few months later, the manslaughter charges against Burley were also vacated. In 2018, Burley and Matthews filed a federal civil rights lawsuit and sought compensation for their wrongful convictions. The case was resolved in November 2020, with the City of Baltimore paying close to $8 million in compensation to Burley and Matthews.
Burley reportedly received $6.275 million from the settlement. However, Burley once again became the subject of media attention in 2020 after the police in Virginia arrested him. After allegedly wounding a woman with a gunshot, Burley had fled from Motel 6 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He was chased by the police and eventually arrested. The woman was later identified as Burley’s then-girlfriend Banitha Agee. Burley faces several criminal charges in Shenandoah and Rockingham counties. However, his trials are still ongoing, and Burley could face life imprisonment.
Read More: Where is Thomas “Tom” Allers Now?
