The Washington Post - 30.08.2019

B6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 , 2019

born Nov. 8, 1926, in Alexandria,

where he graduated in 1945 from

George Washington High School.

He attended the Virginia Military

Institute before serving i n the Ma-

rine Corps Reserve and g raduated

from the University of Virginia’s

law school in 1950.

He practiced general law in Al-

exandria until 1962, when he

joined the Fairfax County Circuit

Court, from w hich h e was elevated

to t he f ederal bench.

In 1950, he married Marilyn

Morgan. She died in 2001, and

their son Albert V. Bryan III died

in 1992. Survivors include three

children, Marie Bryan Lyerly and

John Bryan, both of Arlington,

and V ickers Bryan of A lexandria; a

brother; three granddaughters;

and two great-grandsons.

[email protected]

policies that school administra-

tors presented as efforts to enroll

more black and H ispanic students

at a sought-after alternative

school. Judge Bryan found the p ol-

icies unconstitutional on the

grounds that they discriminated

against white and Asian students.

In 2001, reviewing the case of a

Fairfax County defendant who in-

sisted that he had been wrongly

convicted of rape, Judge Bryan

found that in certain circum-

stances, defendants may have a

constitutional right to post-con-

viction DNA testing. According to

The Post, he was the first federal

judge to make such a ruling. An

appeals court later reversed that

decision. (In 2002, DNA analysis

showed that the defendant, James

Harvey, was guilty.)

Albert Vickers Bryan Jr. was

therapeutic abortions” for indi-

gent women.

In 1981, he found that Fairfax

County had shown “a pattern and

practice of disparate treatment” o f

African Americans and women in

certain jobs and o rdered the coun-

ty to change its hiring and promo-

tion practices “so as to eliminate

adverse impact on blacks or wom-

en.”

In 1997 and 1998, Judge Bryan

twice struck down Arlington

County school system admission

related to a plot in which prosecu-

tors alleged he and associates con-

cealed his personal income from

the IRS and collected $30 million

in loans from s upporters whom he

did not plan to repay.

Judge Bryan sentenced La-

Rouche in 1989 to 15 years in pris-

on; h e was r eleased in 1994.

Judge Bryan’s other notable

cases included a 1978 decision in

which he ruled that under the

state Medicaid program, Virginia

must pay for “necessary, medical,

dria that, in the latter part of his

career, bore the n ame of h is f ather.

Albert V. Bryan Sr., a federal dis-

trict and later appeals court judge,

died in 1 984.

The Eastern District where

both Bryans served was long

known as the “rocket docket” for

its speedy closure of criminal and

civil cases. Describing the y ounger

Judge Bryan, a reporter for The

Washington Post wrote in 1986

that his “crisp courtroom style,

shared by the other federal judges

of the district, means t hat dilatory

tactics are best left at the court-

house door.”

Among Judge Bryan’s most

high-profile cases was the trial of

LaRouche, a conspiracy theorist

who ran for president eight times

before his death in February. He

was convicted in 1988 on charges

BY EMILY LANGER

Albert V. Bryan Jr., a federal
judge who served for two decades
on the U. S. District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia, r uling
on matters including discrimina-
tion in p ublic schools and e mploy-
ment as well as delivering a 15-
year prison sentence to perennial
presidential candidate Lyndon H.
LaRouche Jr., died Aug. 27 i n Alex-
andria, Va. He was 9 2.
The cause w as pneumonia, s aid
his daughter Vickers Bryan.
Judge Bryan was named to the
federal court in 1971 by President
Richard M. Nixon and served as
chief judge from 1985 to 1991,
when he took senior status.
During his years on the bench,
Judge Bryan reported for work at
the federal courthouse in Alexan-

ALBERT V. BRYAN JR., 92

Federal judge ruled on discrimination, abortion from Va. ‘rocket docket’

Judge Bryan’s “crisp courtroom style, shared by

the other federal judges of the district, means that

dilatory tactics are best left at the courthouse door.”

Post reporter in a 1986 article

BY JESSICA ANDERSON

AND TIM PRUDENTE

baltimore — A case that began
in 2014 when a North Baltimore
gang member opened fire on ri-
vals — but struck and killed 3-
year-old McKenzie Elliott as she
played on her porch — came to an
emotional end Wednesday.
Two families changed by a sin-
gle act of violence expressed an-
guish and grief in court just
before U.S. District Judge George
L. Russell III sentenced Te rrell
Plummer, a member of the Old
York Money Gang that operated
in the Waverly neighborhood, to
25 years in federal prison.
Plummer, 30, of Baltimore,
pleaded guilty in November to
one count of racketeering con-
spiracy. I n exchange, federal pros-
ecutors recommended he serve
25 years in prison followed by five
years of supervised release.
He a lso pleaded guilty to fatally
shooting McKenzie in the head
and wounding two others.
The little girl’s death shook
Baltimore, drawing crowds to
memorial services and prompt-
ing city leaders to designate “Mc-
Kenzie Elliott Way.”
Five years later, when McKen-
zie should have been an 8-year-
old returning to school next
week, her mother, Nina Epps,
wept inside Russell’s courtroom,
telling the judge how the little girl
“was my first accomplishment.”
She spoke of how she wanted her
young daughter to have a happy
childhood and experiences she
never had.
“Now that she’s gone, now
what?”
She paused several times,
fighting back gasps and tears
while being embraced by her
sister, Nafeesa Harrison. Harri-
son told the judge that her sister
will never experience important
mother-daughter milestones —
the first day of school, walking
across the stage at graduation or
shopping for her wedding dress.
“It takes a lot of courage to do
what you are doing here,” Russell
told Epps, imploring her not to let

grief overcome her. “McKenzie

would not want her mom suffer-

ing. You’ve got to live your life.”

Epps also told the judge that

she was concerned for her safety.

The child’s killing took years to

solve. Federal prosecutors have

said the gang responsible terror-

ized the Waverly neighborhood

and intimidated witnesses, pre-

venting them from coming for-

ward. It wasn’t until April 20 17

that a federal grand jury indicted

seven men in the Old York Money

Gang, including the killer.

As part of his plea, Plummer

admitted to dealing heroin, co-

caine and marijuana for the Old

York Money Gang between 2013

and 2017. In July 2014, the gang

went to war with a crew of men

from another neighborhood. One

person was stabbed during a fight

on July 30, 2014.

Two days later, the rival crew

returned to Waverly and drove

through the neighborhood in a

white 1999 Mercedes SUV. Plum-

mer opened fire on their car.

“The defendant did so in rela-

tion to protecting and defending

the OYMG neighborhood from

the adversaries’ incursion,” f eder-

al prosecutors wrote in the plea

agreement.

One errant bullet grazed the

chin and wrist of a bystander.

Another fatally struck McKenzie

on her porch in the 3600 block of

Old York Road.

“The Defendant did not mean

to kill McKenzie Elliott,” prosecu-

tors wrote. “However, the Defen-

dant was responsible for her

de ath insofar as he was trying to

shoot the individuals in the white

SUV.”

Plummer is the final gang

member to be sentenced. The

gang’s l eader, Trevon Beasley, w as

sentenced to life in prison on

federal racketeering charges in

March.

Plummer admitted to firing

the errant shots in his plea agree-

ment, but at Wednesday’s hear-

ing, he denied pulling the trigger.

“I want you to know I had

nothing to do with the death of

your child,” he said, turning to

face Epps. Plummer said he chose

not to read a statement he had

written with his attorneys.

“I felt like I wouldn’t be given a

fair chance,” he said, saying the

charges against him could have

led to a longer sentence if he had

been found guilty.

As P lummer spoke, a relative of

his shouted out in the courtroom,

“Keep your head up.”

But the judge said he was not

swayed by Plummer’s comments,

which he called “selfish and cow-

ardice.”

Russell said that as a result of

Plummer’s actions, McKenzie’s

family will never be whole again.

He added that Plummer’s family

will suffer irreparable damage,

too.

The defendant’s mother,

To ngela Russoe, spoke at the

hearing, telling the judge how she

was pregnant at 16 but managed

to graduate on time, go on to

college and earn a master’s de-

gree.

“He didn’t c ome from nothing,”

she said, fighting back tears.

When Plummer was 2, she

said, his father was killed. Now

his three children will grow up

without their father, just as he

did. She told the judge that her

son was not a bad person but that

“he made mistakes that day.” She

then turned toward her son and

told him she loved him as he

turned in his chair and said he

loved her, too.

Russoe also spoke directly to

Epps, telling her: “From the bot-

tom of my heart, I’m sorry. You

don’t have to be afraid of us. We

love you.”

Plummer’s attorney, James

Wyda, the federal public defender

for Maryland, told the court that

the 25-year sentence was fair, as it

reflects the serious nature of the

shooting, but that his client never

intended to cause the harm that

he did.

Wyda and the federal prosecu-

tor handling the case, Michael

Hanlon, spoke of McKenzie’s

death as an example of the city’s

struggles with violence.

The violence of that day is a

symptom of the city’s larger is-

sues, such as poverty a nd segrega-

tion, Wyda said. Hanlon said he

hoped the resolution of the case

would bring some sense of justice

and act as a general deterrent to

others who think of picking up a

gun.

Across Baltimore, 5,000 people

have been killed or injured in

shootings since McKenzie’s

death.

“It’s hard to keep those names

straight,” Hanlon said, consider-

ing those numbers. “But we hope

the name McKenzie Elliott is re-

membered.”

Plummer’s sentencing comes

two weeks after Keon Gray, 30,

was convicted of second-degree

murder for firing the errant shot

that killed 7-year-old Taylor

Hayes last summer. A jury found

Gray guilty of mistakenly hitting

Ta ylor during a shootout in the

streets of West Baltimore.

Epps spoke briefly to reporters

after the hearing, saying she

hoped her daughter’s death

would dissuade others from com-

mitting acts of violence.

“I hope this will be a life

learned lesson for everyone that

we have to put the guns down

because we’re losing our chil-

dren,” Epps said. “I hope that we

all take this into consideration,

pay attention and open our eyes

up and give everybody else a

chance to live their life like how

we all should and make Balti-

more at peace again.”

— Baltimore Sun

MARYLAND

Man sentenced in

3-year-old’s death

KENNETH K. LAM/BALTIMORE SUN

Nina Epps, left, the mother of 3-year-old McKenzie Elliott, and the girl’s aunt, Nafeesa Harrison, speak to reporters Wednesday.

McKenzie was struck and killed by a stray bullet as she played on her porch in 20 14 , when rival gang members opened fire on each other.

Baltimore gang member

receives 25-year term for

fatal shooting in 2014

obituaries

BALTIMORE CITY POLICE

Terrell Plummer, 30 , was part

of the Old York Money Gang.

He admitted to firing the errant

shots in his plea agreement but

denied the charge Wednesday.

OF NOTE

Obituaries of residents from the
District, Maryland and Northern
Virginia.

Donald Lindberg,
medical library director
Donald Lindberg, 85, director
of the National Library of Medi-
cine for 31 years who was instru-
mental in making medical infor-
mation available online, died
Aug. 16 at a hospital in Bethesda,
Md. He died of injuries suffered
in an accidental fall, the National
Institutes of Health said in an
announcement.
As medical library chief, Dr.
Lindberg oversaw the creation of
a common vocabulary for medi-
cal terms, conditions, treatments
and research. He also supervised
the digitization of medical re-
search materials and was instru-
mental in launching several on-

line medical databases.

While serving as chief of the

National Library of Medicine, Dr.

Lindberg also was the first direc-

tor of the government-wide Of-

fice of High-Performance Com-

puting and Communications,

which set standards for connect-

ing to the Internet.

He was the author of three

books and more than 200 aca-

demic publications and served as

an editor and editorial board

member of nine publications,

including the Journal of the

American Medical Association.

Dr. Lindberg “is considered by

many to be the country’s senior

statesman for computers and

medicine,” Francis S. Collins, di-

rector of the National Library of

Medicine’s parent organization,

the National Institutes of Health,

said in a statement.

A New York City native, Dr.

Lindberg was a professor of med-

icine at the University of Mis-

souri for 25 years before being

named director of the National

Library of Medicine in 1984. He

lived in Germantown, Md.

Akbar Ayazi,

VOA division leader

Akbar Ayazi, 65, an Afghan-

born Voice of America journalist

who since 2015 had directed the

agency’s South and Central Asia

division, died Aug. 25 at a hospi-

tal in Falls Church, Va. The cause

was lung cancer and pneumonia,

the VOA said in an announce-

ment.

Mr. Ayazi, a native of Kanda-

har, joined the news staff of the

U.S. government’s international

broadcast agency two years after

immigrating to the United States

in 1980, following the Soviet

invasion of his homeland.

He was chief of VOA’s Pashto

language service in 2005 when

he left for Prague, where he

served for 10 years at the U.S.

government-funded Radio Free

Europe/Radio Liberty broadcast

service.

In 2009 he moderated an Af-

ghan election presidential de-

bate pitting the incumbent,

Hamid Karzai, against two chal-

lengers, c urrent President Ashraf

Ghani and current Chief Execu-

tive Abdullah Abdullah.

Returning to VOA, Mr. Ayazi

directed the agency’s broadcast-

ing over a region stretching from

Turkey to Afghanistan. He estab-

lished an extremism watch unit

to monitor and report violent

political extremism around the

world. He was a resident of

Woodbridge, Va.

Mary Freese,

bookkeeper, volunteer

Mary Freese, 82, a bookkeeper

who volunteered with her church

and with Scouting groups, died

July 7 at h er home i n Winston-Sa-

lem, N.C. The cause of death was

listed as advanced arthritis, said

her son, Gregg Freese.

Mrs. Freese was born Mary

Parsons i n Fountain Hill, Pa., and

lived in Ta koma Park, Md., from

1956 to 2013. She was a part-time

bookkeeper in the 197 0s and

1980s at St. Patrick’s Church and

Episcopal Day School in Wash-

ington and the D.C. Baptist Con-

vention.

She served as a volunteer trea-

surer for more than 25 years at

Clifton Park Baptist Church in

Silver Spring, Md., and volun-

teered with the Cub Scouts and

Boy Scouts.

Philomena Jurey,

VOA executive

Philomena Jurey, 91, the for-

mer editor in chief of Voice of

America who served as the

broadcaster’s White House corre-

spondent during t he Nixon, Ford,

Carter and Reagan presidencies,

died July 26 at a care center in

Hillsdale, Pa. The cause was c om-

plications from vascular demen-

tia, said a niece, Marian Fiscus.

Mrs. Jurey was born Philome-

na Sparano in New Castle, Pa.,

and worked for newspapers in

Virginia and Ohio before joining

Voice of America in 1961. She

retired in 1989. Four years ago,

she moved to Pennsylvania from

Washington.

— From staff reports