In the Park Heights neighborhood of Baltimore, 24-year-old Kendal Fenwick, a devoted father of three, was working to create a safer environment for his children. He had recently purchased and was renovating a home, and in an effort to keep drug dealers from traversing his property, he began constructing a fence. This simple act of a father trying to protect his family is believed to have led to a fatal confrontation.
On the evening of November 9, 2015, shots rang out in the 3500 block of
Park Heights Avenue. Police responded to find Kendal Fenwick in his backyard, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. It is believed that as he was being fired upon, he consciously ran away from his house to lead the danger away from his children who were inside at the time. Fenwick was rushed to Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His death marked the 295th homicide in Baltimore that year.
The investigation into Fenwick's murder quickly pointed to a suspect, 21-year-old Devante Brim. Community members came forward with information, and ballistics evidence played a crucial role in his identification. The gun used to kill Fenwick was linked to another non-fatal shooting that had occurred just five days prior, a crime for which Brim was already in custody. Brim, described by the police commissioner as a 'poster child of a violent repeat offender,' had a significant criminal history.
In December 2015, Devante Brim was charged with the murder of Kendal Fenwick. After a trial that saw a hung jury on second-degree murder charges, prosecutors pursued a retrial. Ultimately, in September 2018, Brim pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and the use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for Fenwick's murder, as part of a total 65-year sentence for multiple crimes, with all sentences to run concurrently. The first five years of his sentence were to be served without the possibility of parole. In the wake of his death, the community honored Kendal Fenwick's memory by completing the fence he started, and the city announced that his block would be named after him.
