Police Probe Possible Links in Odenton, Annapolis Shootings

As details emerged yesterday in a shooting that left two men dead and two others wounded Sunday in western Anne Arundel County, police said they believe the incident might be linked to another shooting that occurred hours later in Annapolis.

The violence began early Sunday in the parking lot of a strip mall in Odenton. At 1:30 a.m., as the nearby Traffic Bar & Lounge was closing, several shots were fired, county police said.

When officers reached the back parking lot of North Odenton Plaza in the 1600 block of Annapolis Road, they found Annapolis residents Terence J. Covington, 25, and DeMarcus T. Beans, 20, dead at the scene.

A third man, 23, was found critically wounded in the lot, according to fire officials. A fourth man, 30, who apparently left the scene, was found a few blocks away after his car crashed into a tree.

"At that point, he was suffering from both gunshot wounds and injuries from the collision," county fire spokesman Matthew Tobia said.

The wounded men, whose names were not released, were taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Police do not know what prompted the shooting.

About 12 hours after the shooting, another man was wounded in Annapolis in the 800 block of Betsy Court. City police said that Maurice L. Brown, 29, of Severn was visiting his girlfriend when he was shot in the leg and torso.

City and county police said they are investigating possible links between the cases but declined to elaborate.

Reached by phone yesterday, Beans's sister, Kelly Beans, said she did not know what her brother was doing at the Odenton strip mall.

"We're still waiting for an explanation," she said. "We still don't know anything about it."

Beans and Covington both had previous legal troubles involving drugs. Covington pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in 2006 and to second-degree escape earlier this year for violating house arrest by failing to show up after a drug test came back positive. His family could not be reached yesterday.

Stores at the strip mall tried to resume business yesterday. The plaza includes a dry cleaner, liquor store, Chinese takeout eatery and tattoo shop. Many of the proprietors said they remain shaken by the shootings.

"Sure, it gets rowdy once in a while from the bar," said Mohammed Islam, who runs Deno's Pizza. "But nothing ever like this. It's scary."