On the night of March 29, 1990, Corporal Theodore Dennis Wolf, Sr., a 40-year-old male and a sixteen-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, was on duty. While patrolling Interstate 95 near the Route 175 interchange in Jessup, Maryland, he initiated a traffic stop of a speeding vehicle. Unbeknownst to Corporal Wolf, the car he pulled over had been stolen a short time earlier in Alexandria, Virginia, though it had not yet been reported.
After obtaining the driver's license, Corporal
Wolf returned to his patrol car to write a summons. The driver of the stopped vehicle then approached the patrol car, identifying himself as a former police officer and showing credentials. Corporal Wolf allowed the man to sit in the passenger seat of his patrol car while he began to issue a warning for the speeding violation. As the man realized he was only receiving a warning, he produced a firearm and shot Corporal Wolf in the jaw. He then fired a second, fatal shot.
Following the shooting, the suspect and his passenger took Corporal Wolf's warning book and fled the scene. They later abandoned and set fire to the stolen vehicle and the warning book in Baltimore County before making their way to New York.
An investigation was launched, which ultimately led to the apprehension of two suspects in New York. Both individuals were subsequently tried for the murder of Corporal Wolf and were convicted for their roles in his death.
