BALTIMORE, MD—The man who shot and killed a woman then spat on her following a road rage dispute in Carney has been sentenced to life in prison.

Ricky Raheem Charles, 32, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Baltimore County Circuit Court.

At approximately 6:30 p.m. on September 19, 2019, officers responded to the 500-block of Fairview Avenue in Dundalk for a report of a shooting. There, police found Melissa West lying in the street in front of her home suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She had been shot in the chest and back and died as a result.

Investigators determined that there had been a dispute between West and the driver of a blue Dodge SUV (later determined to be Ricky Charles) on Avondale Road (21234) just before the shooting.  Charles then pursued West to her home and shot her following an argument.

Homicide detectives were able to use surveillance video from the area to identify the vehicle and Charles. A witness testified that Charles had acknowledged killing West and said he spat on her after he shot her. The police were able to locate saliva on West’s face, which was matched to the DNA of Charles. At the time of his arrest, Charles acknowledged being in the area at the time of the shooting.

State’s Attorney, Scott Shellenberger, noted “the excellent job the Baltimore County Police did in identifying Ricky Charles in order to bring him to justice for this outrageous act.”

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