Suspect in MTA killing had history in Arundel
In July, allegedly threatened bus driver: ‘I will kill you’
When Cameron Silcott and Nichelle Greene allegedly gunned down a wellknown city bus driver thisweek, the couple alreadywaswanted by four different police departments for crimes ranging from misdemeanor theft to assault and weapons charges.
In fact, Silcott allegedly threatened to kill another bus driver three months ago in Anne Arundel County.
An Anne Arundel judge issued awarrant for his arrest after Silcott allegedly threatened the driver in July. The driver asked Silcott to take his feet down from a pole on the bus. In charging documents, police wrote that the driver glimpsed a gun in the man’swaistband.
“I will kill you,” Silcott allegedly told him. Now, Silcott and Greene are under arrest and charged withmurdering a longtime bus driver in Baltimore. Police Commissioner MichaelHarrison identified them Friday as the killers ofMarcus Parks.
Parks’ death led the bus drivers’ union to redouble calls for new safety measures to protect drivers. The Amalgamated Transit Union is urging Congress to pass federal legislation requiring municipalities develop safety plans and install barriers to protect drivers. In March, another city bus driver was shot in his chest during an argument with a passenger.
Parks, anMTA driver for 20 years, leaves behind three sons and a legacy on the basketball court of the old Lake Clifton Eastern High School. The mayor described the 51-year-old Parks as a personal friend. One witness recalled the awful sight of his murder, saying the gunman stood over a wounded Parks and repeatedly shot him.
The couple was arrested after a standoff at Greene’s home in the Perkins Homes public housing complex in Southeast Baltimore, just a few blocks from where Parks died. SWAT officers caught Silcott trying to escape out the second-floor window. Officers charged both Silcott, 24, and Greene, 27, with first-degree murder and gun charges.
They did not have defense attorneys listed Friday. Silcott is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 27. Greene’s hearingwas not yet scheduled.
Detectives have no reason to believe Parks knew his killers, a police spokesman said.
Greene has been wanted since October 2019 on assault, reckless endangerment and a weapons charge filed in Baltimore City District Court. Those chargeswere brought by the girlfriend of Silcott’s brother. In charging documents, she accused Greene of
attacking her in the street during a dispute between the brothers. The woman said Greene bashed her head in and knocked her out. She said Greene pulled out her hair and fractured her nose and jaw.
The brother also filed assault charges against Silcott over the incident, saying he suffered a broken nose and black eyes. He dropped the charges.
Meanwhile, Silcottwaswanted by police in King George County, Virginia, for violating terms of his probation and by police in Howard County for skipping trial on misdemeanor charges of theft and possession of drug paraphernalia. The most serious charges stemfromhis alleged threat to kill the bus driver last summer near BWI ThurgoodMarshall Airport in Anne Arundel County.
According to charging documents, the bus driver glimpsed a gun with an extended magazine poking from Silcott’s waistband.
When the bus driver pulled up to police for help, Silcott got off the bus and ran away. Police later tracked him with surveillance cameras.
The Maryland Transit Administration circulated a notice to be on the lookout for Silcott. He was wanted on three handgun charges. MTA Police and the U.S. Marshals have been searching for him ever since, an MTA spokeswoman said.
He was still on the loose around 10:30 a.m. Thursday when Parks stopped his bus to let off all the passengers in the1200 block of E. FayetteSt. at theedge of the Jonestown neighborhood in Baltimore. The couple tried to board without paying the fare, police wrote in charging documents.
When Parks refused them, they started arguing.
“The female suspect grabbed the victim’s black backpack that was to the front of the bus where the operator is located. The female suspect ran off the bus and along with the male suspect ran westbound,” wrote detectives, who watched footage from surveillance cameras in the street, in charging documents.
Parks gave chaseandcaught them. Silcott pulled out a handgun and allegedly shot Parks.
“The male suspect then walked over to the victim and shot same again multiple times after he had fallen to the ground,” the detectivewrote.
The killers then ran away.
Detectives wrote that they were able to identity the killers as Silcott and Greene “via a number of databases, video review, and past criminal history.” Within hours, SWAT teams raided Greene’s home in Ballou Court of the housing complex and arrested the couple. Inside, police said, they found two 9 mm magazines and Parks’ MTA identification card.