From prison to $1M-plus to charges
Hearing held on GTTF victim who allegedly shot girlfriend
HARRISONBURG, Va. — More than a million dollars from a Baltimore Police misconduct settlement had just landed in Umar Burley’s bank account and he already felt he had to get out of town. He believed someone followed him from his attorney’s office after collecting the money, his girlfriend testified Tuesday, and he thought a Baltimore street gang wanted to kidnap his family members to extort his cash.
Less than 72 hours later, Burley was in a rented U-Haul leading state police on a high-speed chase through rural Virginia after allegedly shooting his girlfriend in the face at a motel. Taking the witness stand at a preliminary hearing in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Banitha Agee said Burley abruptly moved up plans for them to relocate to Asheville, North Carolina, in December.
The shooting, however, came out of nowhere, she testified in Harrisonburg General District Court.
“He was always very sweet,” said Banitha Agee, 32. “There’s nothing bad I can say, except he shot me.”
Defense attorney Steven Silverman said he is exploring Burley’s allegations that he was being threatened. But he also asked
questions of Agee regarding whether she believed 50-year-old Burley had been paranoid or suffering from mental health issues.
“We are following up on whether or not that is something we can corroborate,” Silverman told The Baltimore Sun after the hearing. “We’re just trying to put the pieces together. It’s very early in our investigation.”
Burley spent seven years in prison until the 2017 indictment of Gun Trace Task Force Sgt. Wayne Jenkins on corruption charges, which led federal authorities to uncover that drugs had been planted on Burley after he fled officers and killed an 87-yearold man in the ensuing car crash.
Burley and his passenger, Brent Matthews, were exonerated, and their lawyers, including Silverman, secured a settlement of about $8 million last fall.
When the settlement was announced, Burley said in an interview he looked forward to moving away from Baltimore and enjoying life in the country. But he described being weary and broken from his experiences. He struggled with money while the lawsuit was being argued, and kept getting pulled over by police.
He now faces charges not just related to shooting Agee on Dec. 10, but also for ramming a police vehicle and shooting at officers during the chase. Burley looked sullen over a monitor from the county jail, his head tilted forward. He occasionally yawned.
Agee was shot in the eye and said she lost her sight. She wore sunglasses over her eyes and a mask over her face while testifying, shielding her injuries.
On Jan. 20, she filed a lawsuit against Burley for $8 million dollars — or about $3,000 more than the total settlement he and Matthews received.
At the time of the shooting, they were traveling to Asheville with two adult dogs and seven, 5-day old puppies, and Agee said she had pulled the U-Haul up to their room to warm up the vehicle and put the dogs inside.
She said that she was fumbling with her motel door key, and speaking to Burley’s adult daughter over FaceTime with Burley standing next to her when without warning she heard a gun cocking.
She turned to see Burley pointing a pistol at her face. She fell to the ground after being shot, and said she heard Burley get into the U-Haul and drive off. He said nothing.
Ray Patel, the motel’s front desk manager, told The Sun that he remembered Agee bursting into the lobby and running towards the back, bleeding from the face and talking to someone on FaceTime. He called 911.
Agee said she started dating Burley in January 2019, and that they talked about marriage. She hoped to breed dogs, and Burley had talked about getting into real estate.
Agee said she wasn’t familiar with the details of Burley’s settlement, because she rarely left the house and didn’t follow the news. She said she listens to church music and smokes marijuana, while Burley would run errands. “I never had to go outside,” she said.
His settlement was approved by Baltimore’s Board of Estimates on Nov. 18, but Burley did not obtain his share until Dec. 7.
Agee testified that she did not see Burley acting strange or paranoid, but under cross-examination said that Burley told her he believed he had been followed from his attorney’s office when he picked up his check. She also confirmed that he told her he believed someone tried to break into their home that night, and said she called 911.
Silverman said he is trying to confirm that 911 call with police.
Still, when Burley told Agee that they urgently had to leave Baltimore, she said she thought little of it.
“I was really exhausted from dealing with the puppies,” Agee testified. She said she had no ties to Baltimore and didn’t mind leaving, especially since they already had talked about moving. “I took the most important thing, the puppies.”
Agee said Burley’s check hadn’t cleared yet, so a relative provided them money to rent the U-Haul. She sat in the back of the U-Haul with the dogs as Burley drove, and was surprised when they reached their destination and were in Philadelphia.
“Did you ever ask Mr. Burley why are are we in Philadelphia?” Silverman asked.
“No,” Agee said.
After staying at a hotel that would allow dogs, they started driving to Asheville. Agee said she drove, with Burley, this time staying in the back with one of the dogs. They stopped in Harrisonburg, about five hours from Asheville, to take a break for the night.
Silverman repeatedly asked Agee whether she knew anyone in Virginia, including police officers. Agee said no. Silverman also asked her whether Burley had been taking drugs; she said she never saw him use drugs during their relationship.
“Did you see Umar mentally breaking down?” Silverman asked at one point.
Agee said she did not; she said one of the puppies had died right before they left, and that she was inconsolable.
“When the puppy died, he helped me. He brought me flowers, buried the puppy in the backyard,” she said.
The morning of the shooting, Burley woke her up, she said.
“They found us,” he allegedly told her.