During a recent visit with Baynet Radio and TheBAYNET.com State’s Attorney for St. Mary’s County, Richard Fritz explained what it means to be the top prosecutor in the County and the intricacies involved with putting criminals behind bars.
Fritz has been the top prosecutor for the past 12 years, but has worked as a prosecutor for 26 years. “Before I was State’s Attorney, I served for 10 years as the Deputy States Attorney and before that, four years as an assistant,” said Fritz. “It is all about the experience to get the job done.”
Fritz explained that getting a conviction is a complicated process that looks into all aspects of the crime committed from the police investigation to evidence gathering to the arrest. “We have to make sure the alleged criminal’s constitutional rights were not violated in order to proceed,” said Fritz.
When asked to explain why it seems like some criminals continue to be released, not prosecuted or return to the community very fast, Fritz explained that there are many reasons, including prosecutorial errors, court errors or over-zealous police work that can cause a sentence to be reduced from the maximum or even not prosecuted at all.
Fritz also explained that even with a conviction, there are many opportunities for criminals to have their conviction overturned and the requirement for a new trial. “All of those require someone who knows the system and can avoid errors that will allow criminals back on the streets.”
One important area that Fritz would like to expand in the coming term is the prevention and prosecution of domestic violence. “I would like to see a Domestic Violence Unit created and all housed in one location much like the Bureau of Criminal Investigation which is a multi-agency unit very successful at solving crimes,” said Fritz, He went on to explain that 70 percent of homicides are as a result of domestic violence.
“Twenty-six years ago a man could strike his wife and he would very rarely get arrested much less prosecuted. That is no longer the case. We take domestic violence cases very seriously. The creation of a dedicated unit to investigate and prosecute domestic violence offenders would go a long way to cut down on serious crime,” said Fritz.
Fritz also stated when asked about areas of high crime, that 90 percent of the crime is committed by 10 percent of the population. “It is that 10 percent we are concentrating our efforts on all the time,” said Fritz.
To reinforce his earlier statement about criminals prosecuted and getting released, “We are limited to sentencing guidelines and not every crime or every criminal can be sentenced to the maximum depending on their history. Sentencing guidelines are based on a continuum of criminal activity. A first time offender is never sentenced to the same amount of time as that of a ten-time offender.”
When asked the difficulties in prosecuting certain cases, Fritz mentioned the recent high profile case involving the death of Devon Baker and the search and subsequent arrest of the suspect Moore by Canadian authorities, “These are very complicated cases, We had to work closely with Canadian prosecutors and law enforcement from New Jersey and New York. We have already sent investigators to New Jersey and New York and officers to Canada on this case. Every minute detail of the case has to be handled very carefully to ensure a successful prosecution in this case.”
He stated that there are many aspects of the case that have to be ev
